Mystery at Girton
by DarkPhoenix101
Summary: Harrasment from graduate assistants, racial prejudice against a fellow student and a mysterious disappearance that may involve forced marriage. Lucy's first term at Cambridge is not what she expects.
1. The Roommate

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its |associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 1: The Roommate

"It's not exactly Cair Paravel, is it?"

Peter Pevensie laughed at his younger sister's comment. He had to agree that Girton College was not at all like the wonderful castle he and the others lived in when they were Kings and Queens in Narnia. A redbrick neo-Tudor building, constructed in the middle of the last century, it was also a far cry from the gothic elegance of his own college.

"Not much," he agreed. "Rather different from King's as well, but then we are the best in Cambridge!"

"You mean the most famous," Lucy corrected him, "and that's only because of the choir."

"Well it is a wonderful choir," Peter insisted. "But it's not just the Chapel and choir King's is renowned for. We also get the best academic results of any college." He grinned, deciding to tease Lucy a little. "I don't think Girton actually had a single graduate last year!"

"Now that's hardly fair," Lucy protested, as Peter opened the boot of his car and heaved out her suitcase. "Girton only became part of the University officially two years ago. We'll have our first graduates this year, then we'll see just how well King's compares!"

"Yes we will see!" Peter replied, putting the suitcase down. "Do you want me to come inside with you?"

Lucy shook her head. "I'll be fine Peter. I'm a big girl now!"

"I know," Peter sighed. "I can hardly believe you're eighteen already and starting at University."

"I have been eighteen before," Lucy reminded him. "I've been much older than that, actually!"

"Yes, but you've weren't at college then," Peter said. "You weren't apart from the rest of us."

"Well I won't be that far away from you and Ed," Lucy assured him. "It's only a quick bus ride to the main University campus and I'll have to come every day for lectures and laboratory work."

Peter couldn't resist teasing her again. "I never thought you would study something like pharmacology. My sister the mad scientist!"

Lucy returned the teasing in kind. "Better than being a dotty antiquarian like you, stuck in old books and manuscripts all day!"

"I like old manuscripts," her brother declared. "Much more interesting than all those smelly chemicals!" Becoming serious again he said regretfully, "I'd better be going."

Lucy just nodded, her eyes looking suspiciously moist.

Stepping forward, Peter kissed his sister's forehead and drew her into an affectionate hug.

"Aslan protect you, dear sister!"

"And you, brother!"

Lucy watched as Peter got back into his car and started the engine. He gave her a final wave then sped off, the car soon disappearing from sight.

She turned round and slowly made her way towards the college. Passing through the tower gate a short walk brought Lucy out into a quadrangle of buildings surrounding a well-manicured lawn. Just to her left was a small building she identified from her map of the college as the Porter's Lodge, where she had been instructed to report on arrival.

There was an open hatchway set in the wall of the Lodge and sitting behind it was a middle-aged man with prematurely silver hair, dressed rather splendidly in a scarlet uniform with gold buttons and tassels.

"Good morning, Miss," he greeted her politely. "How can I help you?"

"I'm a new student," Lucy informed him. "I was told to report here."

"You're name, Miss?" The Porter enquired, opening a notebook bound in red leather.

"Lucy Pevensie."

"Lucy Pevensie," he muttered, thumbing through the notebook. "Ah yes, here we are. You received the letter we sent, Miss Pevensie?"

"Letter?" Lucy stared at him blankly.

"The College sent you a letter at the beginning of last week," he informed her. "You didn't receive it?"

Lucy shook her head. "I've been staying with my cousin for the last week."

"Oh dear!" he exclaimed. "That's really very unfortunate. Well the long and short of it is that you'll be having to share your room."

Lucy frowned. "I thought we each got an individual room?"

"Normally, yes," the Porter told her. "But the number of applicants has increased dramatically over the past two years. Until the new accommodation wing is built, the administration has decided to double up some of the larger rooms to accommodate additional students."

"Oh that's fine," Lucy assured him. "I don't mind sharing with another girl."

"You haven't met her yet!" He scowled unpleasantly. "It really isn't proper, a nice English girl like you, having to room with someone of her sort."

Lucy was surprised by the hostility in his tone. She presumed from his words that her roommate was a foreigner, but the antagonistic attitude was rather strong, even for the usually insular British. She wondered if this girl might be German. Although the war had ended five years ago, anti-German sentiment was still very strong among some people and that might explain the Porter's disapproval.

"I'll show you to your room. Wait a moment please" He disappeared inside the building and Lucy could hear him asking someone to stand in for him. A few seconds later he came out of a nearby door. Indicating that she should follow him, the Porter set off along the narrow path that ran parallel to the lawn, Lucy trailing a little behind him.

"As you will be sharing, your study bedroom will have two beds and extra furniture, including individual storage for clothes and other possessions," he informed her, "but I'm afraid you will have to share a dressing table. Cooking in your room is not allowed, but tea and other hot beverages may be prepared and a small gas ring has been provided for this purpose."

"Meals will be in the Dining Hall." He pointed across the quad and Lucy turned to see a large building with a gable roof, built of the same redbrick as the rest of the college. "Mealtimes have been posted on the bulletin boards in all the common rooms and you should remember that you will only be served in the Dining Hall on presentation of a valid Ration Book. Academic gowns must be worn at mealtimes and all formal college occasions. A gown is available in your room and wearing it is also mandatory at university lectures. If you lose your gown it will not be replaced until payment of the appropriate fine,"

"How much?" Lucy queried nervously, trying her best to absorb all this information.

"Twelve shillings," he replied and Lucy winced, fervently promising herself she would take great care of her gown.

"College gates are locked at midnight, but there is a ten o'clock curfew and admittance after this will require payment of a two shilling fine. Entertaining male visitors in your room is strictly forbidden," he looked at Lucy sternly, "and any infringement of this rule will result in immediate suspension. Male visitors may be entertained in your common room with permission from a member of staff."

By now they had come to the far end of the quadrangle and the Porter opened a door and beckoned Lucy inside. They ascended a stairway and then turned right into a wide corridor, painted white with portraits stationed at intervals on the walls, all of female subjects.

"This is the Emily Davis Wing of the College dormitories," he informed her. "This is your dorm's common room," he pointed at the nearest door, "and the bathroom is at the end of the corridor."

He led her to the second door on the right and opened it without knocking. "This will be your room."

Lucy followed him inside. It was a fairly large room with three arched windows at the far end that looked out onto the college quadrangle. A dressing table with a large mirror stood in front of the windows and looking round Lucy saw a wardrobe, two beds and two desks along with some chairs and a couple of Chester drawers. There was a small table at the side of the room with a portable gas ring alight and a kettle boiling.

A girl had been sitting beside the table and she stood up when they entered. She was about Lucy's height and her clothes were typical of an English girl in her late teens, not that dissimilar to what Lucy was wearing, but her olive skin and dark hair and eyes at once betrayed her origins from the Indian subcontinent. It suddenly dawned on Lucy that the Porter's hostility to her roommate was a result not of national but of racial prejudice.

"Well, I'll leave you to get unpacked," the Porter said, and with a dark look at the Indian girl he left, closing the door behind him.

Lucy laid her suitcase on the nearest bed and turned to face her new roommate.

"Hello," she said, offering her hand. "I'm Lucy Pevensie."

After just a slight hesitation, the girl took Lucy's hand and shook it.

"Sumita Chatterjee," she introduced herself. Her voice sounded typically English, although there was a slight accent. It did not sound Indian though, and Lucy could not quite place it

Despite the fact that they had only just met, Lucy already found herself liking this girl. She rather reminded her of Aravis, but it was not just in appearance that she resembled the Calormene Tarkeenha who had become a noblewoman of Archenland. She had the same proud and dignified way of carrying herself but also the same reserve, the same slight hesitation and uncertainty Lucy had seen in Aravis when they first met. Her thoughts were interrupted by the shrill whistle of the kettle boiling.

"I was just making some tea," Sumita explained, turning off the gas ring. "Would you like some?"

"Thank you," Lucy replied. "That would be lovely."

Sumita busied herself getting a teapot and cups and saucers as Lucy settled herself in one of the chairs.

"Sumita is a beautiful name," Lucy said.

"Thank you!" the Indian girl replied, looking a bit surprised. "It means 'friendly'"

"Friendly" Lucy said thoughtfully. "And are you? Friendly I mean."

"I hope so!" Sumita answered. "How do you take your tea?"

"Oh, milk and one sugar, please." Lucy watched as Sumita stirred the cup and then passed it to her before taking a chair herself.

"Thank you!" She took a small sip. "What subject are you reading?" she asked.

"Pharmacology," her roommate replied.

"Really?" Lucy was delighted by that information. "So am I!"

"I suppose that's why they put us together," Sumita suggested. She also looked extremely pleased.

"I expect so." Lucy took another sip of her tea. "Well I really hope you live up to your name then. It would be good to have someone friendly beside me during lectures!"

Sumita did not reply for a few moments. "What about your name," she asked at last. "Lucy means 'light' doesn't it?"

Lucy smiled at that. "Yes it does."

"I think light is what I need most," Sumita muttered, more to herself than Lucy.

"Why, are you living in darkness?" Lucy asked, half joking.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything really," the girl exclaimed, suddenly looking rather uncomfortable. "You don't want to worry about my problems."

"No, I'd like to know," Lucy told her. She hadn't been serious before but now she was concerned, seeing that something was really bothering Sumita. She reached out and squeezed the girl's hand encouragingly. "Please?"

Sumita sighed but nodded in acquiescence. "All right," she said, then took a sip of tea before speaking again.

"Well I was born in India, in Bombay actually, but I've spent very little time there since I was a small child," she explained. "I've lived in South Africa with my mother and uncle since I was eight, and for the last seven years I attended a boarding school here in England. I'm really European I suppose, in everything that counts. I certainly couldn't be comfortable with Indian culture anymore. The last time I was back there I was subjected to a lot of disapproval because I've picked up all sorts of Western habits and mannerisms they don't like. There's quite a lot of resentment in India against Indians who've adopted European culture and dress, at least with women, they don't seem to mind it with men so much."

Sumita took another sip of tea before continuing. "But sometimes I'm not sure I belong in England either. You noticed the Porter's attitude?" Lucy nodded sympathetically. "A lot of people are like that. Some English people are really nice and seem to accept me without any problems, but a lot of them just can't look past the fact that I'm Indian, a foreigner of a different race, and can't see me as a person." Sumita frowned, staring into the depths of her teacup. "That's why I sometimes I feel as though I am actually living in darkness, caught between two different cultures, two different worlds and not really belonging to either of them."

Lucy remained silent for quite a while because Sumita's words had struck a deep chord with her. Lucy knew she would always be a Narnian Queen; nothing could ever change that. But the fact was that Narnia did not really need her anymore, not as a ruler anyway, the mantle of sovereign responsibility had passed on to Caspian's heirs. Lucy fully accepted that, accepted that her home was in England now. She was not sure what Aslan wanted her to do here but felt certain He had some purpose for her and was determined to fulfil it. That was one of the reasons she was here at Girton to study pharmacology. But it was hard sometimes. Living all those years as a Queen in Narnia had changed her in ways that sometimes made it difficult to fit in. There were advantages of course. Her experiences had given her a wealth of wisdom and of insight into human motivation that most people three or four times her age could not match. But the drawback was she sometimes found it a little hard to relate to people her own age. Looking at her new roommate she felt they were in some ways kindred spirits, because Lucy also at times felt caught between two worlds without fully belonging to either.

"I think," Lucy said carefully, breaking the long silence at last, "that what we both need is a really good friend, someone to rely on in this new place we find ourselves in. Perhaps we could be that for each other?" Lifting her teacup, Lucy held it up, offering a toast. "Friends?" she asked hopefully.

Sumita looked at her in astonishment, then a delighted smile appeared on her face and she lifted her own cup in response.

"Friends!" she agreed, and the two girls clinked their teacups together and drank to set the seal on their pact.

Lucy looked round at the room that would be her home for most of the next three years then back at Sumita. Starting college was an intimidating experience, but she had already accomplished one of the most important things, she had made a friend. Whatever else might be in store for her, Lucy was sure now she would enjoy studying at Cambridge.


	2. Meeting the Boys

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 2: Meeting the Boys

"That was absolutely disgusting!" Sumita complained as she left the Dining Hall with Lucy the next morning. "Those scrambled eggs were vile!"

"It's certainly not the best breakfast I've ever had," Lucy admitted. "It's odd though, because supper last night was quite nice." She shrugged. "Perhaps they have different kitchen staff in the morning."

"Yes, kitchen staff who obviously hate students!" Sumita grumbled.

Lucy did not get the chance to reply because the friends' conversation was interrupted.

"What are you two complaining about?"

The voice came from behind them and turning round they saw a short, fair-haired girl called Alice Pearson standing there. They had net her the previous evening in their common room with all the other First Years and neither had liked her very much. She had been cool towards Lucy and distant to the point of rudeness with Sumita.

"Food not what you're used to Chatterjee?" There was a sneer on Alice's face as she spoke. "Well if you don't like civilised food darkie, you should go back to the jungle where you came from."

She strode away haughtily. Lucy made to follow her, her fists clenched in fury, but she was restrained by Sumita's hand on her arm.

"Just leave it, Lucy! Please!"

"Leave it?" Lucy looked at her friend incredulously. "After that?"

"Yes, after that!" Sumita insisted. "Just what were you going to do anyway? Beat her up?"

"I could!" Lucy declared, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"I'm sure you could thrash her within an inch of her life, but what good would that do?" Sumita asked calmly. "It wouldn't do anything to change her attitude and you'd only get yourself in trouble."

Lucy sighed, acknowledging to herself the truth of Sumita's words, although she certainly didn't like it. This was one of the reasons she still sometimes missed Narnia. Everything in England was so much more complicated.

"Come on, we've got our first lecture in town this morning," Sumita reminded her. "Lets collect our books and prettify ourselves for all those nice young men at King's and Saint John's!"

Lucy was unable to suppress the giggle that escaped her lips. "I'm not sure 'prettify' is actually a word but thanks Sumita. That's a good idea!"

Fifteen minutes later they were exiting the college gate under the central tower and heading for the bus stop. The 'prettifying' had not taken that long. Unlike her sister, Lucy did not usually wear a lot of make up and Sumita was similarly restrained.

"It's rather a nuisance, having to catch a bus to get to lectures," Sumita said. "I don't understand why they built Girton so far from the other colleges."

"It wasn't originally part of the University," Lucy explained. "It was just a 'College of Higher Education for Ladies' and it was distant from the other colleges to prevent students fraternising with young men."

"I'm sure they did anyway!" Sumita said, grinning.

Lucy laughed. "Probably, but I imagine any assignations were pretty hard to arrange. In the first few decades, Girton students had to be chaperoned by a member of staff when they went outside the building!"

Sumita made a face at that.

"I know!" Lucy said. "It sounds horribly restrictive, doesn't it?"

"Women have come a long way since those days." Sumita declared.

"Have we?" Lucy asked. There was frown on her usually cheerful face.

Sumita gave her friend a startled look, but there was no time to question her further. They had just arrived at the bus stop, joining a crowd of fellow Girton students and a convoy of three double deckers was already approaching the stop. Alice Pearson was among the girls waiting there, but to the great relief of them both she got on a different bus from the two friends.

Lucy and Sumita managed to get a double seat near the front and as the bus began the journey that would take them to the Chemistry Department in Pembroke Street, Sumita brought the subject up again.

"Lucy, you didn't seem to agree with me, that women have more freedom now."

"I do think women have more freedom," Lucy replied. "I'm just sceptical they'll get the chance to properly use it."

"How do you mean?" Sumita looked puzzled.

"I mean that during the war, women just about kept the country going alone," Lucy said. "They worked in factories, as intelligence officers and technicians. They even went overseas with the armed forces as nurses or were sent as spies into occupied countries."

"Well, that's one reason women's lives are different now," Sumita commented. "We have completely different expectations from our mothers and grandmothers who could only imagine being housewives. And now here we are at Cambridge studying pharmacology. That just shows how much more opportunities women have these days."

"I don't disagree we have more opportunities," Lucy admitted, "but opportunities have to be used. Since the war ended there's been a concerted effort to put women back in the restrictive domestic box of the past. You must have noticed it yourself. Newspaper and magazine articles, newsreels at the cinema, even entertainment films, they all give this idealised view of women as perfect wives and mothers, that this is women's exclusive destiny. Before women were more or less forced to be only housewives. Now although there are a lot more opportunities they're being tricked and brainwashed into accepting that role."

"Some perhaps," Sumita admitted. "But not all. I mean look at us, we've taken advantage of our opportunities and so have a lot of other girls. I've heard that applications to Girton have increased by more than a hundred percent over the last few years."

"Yes, but going to University is one thing," Lucy argued. "Achieving success in a career is something else altogether. When we leave Cambridge I'm sure we'll find it much harder than men with equivalent qualifications to get work. And if we want to marry and have children it will be even harder. Men don't have problems balancing career and family, but that's because all the burden of child and homecare falls on women. For women to really achieve social equality with men it would need a complete change in society and in men's attitudes. They would have to become much more willing to share the responsibilities of home and childcare. That won't happen overnight. It's something that will take decades, maybe centuries to achieve."

"I doubt we'll ever achieve true equality then," Sumita said. "Some men will always try to exploit women in one way or another."

Lucy was astonished by the bitterness of her tone. Her friend was frowning; a dark almost pained expression on her face. There was a vague distant look in her eyes as though she was lost in some other and not at all pleasant world. Lucy didn't know what might be troubling Sumita but some instinct warned her it would be better to change the subject.

"Let's talk about something else," she suggested. "Look, were coming into the centre of Cambridge now."

Sumita's depressed mood seemed to lift as the two girls looked out of the window at the city's famous landmarks. The bus moved down King's Parade past Kings College and it's famous Chapel. Sumita gazed in wonder at the high vaulted building.

"That's an amazing place!" she exclaimed. "Is the choir there as good as I've heard?"

"Well I'm not sure what you've heard," Lucy laughed, "but it is a wonderful choir. I was at a service there last year for my brother Peter's graduation and the singing was just out of this world!"

"When do they have services?" Sumita asked.

"There's a Sung Evensong every weekday and Saturday at five," Lucy told her, " and Matins on Sunday morning with a Sung Eucharist in the afternoon."

"Perhaps we could go one Sunday afternoon," Sumita suggested. "It's been quite a while since I received Communion."

"You're a Christian?" Lucy was unable to conceal her surprise at that news.

"Yes," Sumita confirmed. "Why Lucy, what did you think I was?"

"Well I assumed…" Lucy's voice trailed off and she looked down, feeling rather embarrassed.

"That I must be either a Hindu or a Muslim?" Sumita suggested gently.

Lucy just nodded, feeling too embarrassed to speak.

"Lucy, I happily ate steak and kidney pie at supper last night and bacon at breakfast this morning," Sumita reminded her. "Well, I didn't eat the bacon happily because it was terribly cooked but do you really think I would do that if I belonged to either of those religions? Remember I spent most of my childhood in South Africa, and anyway not all native Indians are Hindus or Muslims, or even Buddhists for that matter. Christianity has existed in India longer than it has in England. According to tradition it was first brought there by Saint Thomas."

"I'm sorry," Lucy apologised, her voice quiet.

"That's all right!" With a smile Sumita reached out and squeezed Lucy's hand. "I think highly of you that you were prepared to be my friend even though you thought I belonged to another faith. Anyway, what about visiting King's on Sunday?"

Just at that moment the bus turned left into a street off King's Parade.

"I think this is Pembroke Street," Lucy said, and the two girls got up and made their way to the back of the bus. Alighting at the next stop they began walking toward the University's Chemistry Department.

"I don't see why we couldn't go," Lucy said in response to Sumita's previous question. "The only problem is I'm not sure how frequent the bus service is on a Sunday afternoon. But I suppose I could ask Peter to pick us up in his car."

"I thought you said he had graduated," Sumita looked puzzled.

"Oh he has," Lucy explained. "But he's doing a postgraduate research degree in medieval history at King's. You'd like Peter, and you'd like my other brother Edmund too. He's studying law at Jesus College."

"Well I hope to meet them someday," Sumita replied as they crossed the road to get to the Chemistry Department.

It was a huge grey stone building with large bay windows and several squat conical turrets reminiscent of a medieval castle. As the girls went in through the main entrance Lucy noticed that the stonework was crumbling in places, in fact the whole building had a general air of dilapidation.

Lucy and Sumita found their way to the lecture theatre with little difficulty. It was a small amphitheatre of bench seats clustered around a blackboard and table. They were the only students there but that changed a few moments later.

The young men entered as a group, talking and laughing, but fell silent on seeing the two girls. Like Lucy and Sumita they were wearing the prescribed academic gowns over their normal clothes. Most were dressed in casual lounge suits but Lucy noticed one, a thin arrogant looking young man with blond hair, was wearing a dinner jacket and bow tie, and he was the one who spoke first.

"Well gentlemen, it appears we have some fillies among us," his gaze turned full on Sumita, "and one of them is rather a dark horse at that."

"Be nice Johnson!" It was a burly dark haired young man who spoke and he approached the two girls, his hand extended. "Mark Lewisham, from Saint John's," he introduced himself. "I suppose you ladies are at Girton?"

"That's right!" Lucy confirmed. "Lucy Pevensie," she said shaking the proffered hand.

One by one the girls were introduced to all the young men, although Lucy noticed some were reluctant to shake Sumita's hand. She fumed silently on seeing that the thin blond young man, who had introduced himself as Mortimer Johnson, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hand afterwards.

There was not much time for conversation as the lecturer arrived and all the students took their places on the benches. Lucy sat next to Sumita of course, and to her surprise Mark sat with them.

"Good morning, gentlemen," the lecturer began. "I am Dr. Bradley. Welcome to…"

"Excuse me, sir!" Lucy interrupted him.

He looked at her in surprise. "Yes miss what is it?"

"I just wanted to remind you that the students here are not just gentlemen." Lucy told him.

There was a murmur of surprise from the other students but the lecturer did not notice. He seemed rather bemused.

"Ah!" he said at last, apparently catching on to what Lucy meant. "Ah yes, my apologies. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen."

Sumita gave her a quick grin and Lucy smiled back at her. On the other side of her, Lucy heard Mark Lewisham chuckling softly.

"Welcome to the General Chemistry for Pharmacology course," the lecturer continued. "This course will consist of fifty lectures over the three terms of your first year. As you probably realise, organic chemistry is the branch of the discipline most required in pharmacology. However, a basic understanding of physical and inorganic chemistry is also essential and that is what we will try to give you in this course."

"Now we will begin with atomic structure…"

There was a flurry of activity as students took out notebooks and pens. For the next hour and a half Lucy was preoccupied scribbling notes on quantum theory and electronic energy levels. When the lecture finally ended her hand ached.

"Well that was pretty demanding material," Mortimer Johnson declared afterwards. He looked at Lucy and Sumita arrogantly. "Especially for a female brain, I should have thought!"

Lucy stared at him coldly for a moment before replying.

"I think I managed to grasp it pretty well Johnson, despite the limitations of my feminine brain!"

She and Sumita walked past him without further comment. There was a half an hour beak followed by another lecture, this time on organic chemistry, which Lucy found rather less demanding.

The lecture ended at last and the two girls left the building, intending to catch the bus back to college for lunch. But a surprise was waiting for Lucy outside.

"Edmund, Peter!" she exclaimed after meeting them on the front steps. "What are you doing here?"

Her brothers both laughed and Edmund said, "We knew you'd have lectures here this morning so we thought we should celebrate your first day as a proper student and have a picnic lunch."

He raised the picnic basket he was holding. Looking inside, Lucy saw ham, cheese and bread, some pate and a bottle of white wine along with paper cups.

"And where did you get all this?" she inquired. "Don't you know we're supposed to have Rationing?"

Peter grinned and tapped his nose in a conspiratorial fashion. "Anything's possible if you have the right contacts!"

"You sound like a spiv," Lucy told him. She shook her head in mock disapproval. "My brother the Black Marketeer!"

"Nothing so dramatic," Edmund assured her. "He's just owed a few favours by the Master of Ceremonies at the King's Dining Hall."

"Well alright," Lucy said. "But I want Sumita to come with us. There's easily enough for four in that basket."

She beckoned her friend forward, introducing them to her brothers.

"Sumita, these are my brothers Peter and Edmund. Peter, Edmund this is my friend Sumita Chatterjee."

Edmund shook Sumita's hand in a friendly way but when Peter took her hand he bowed over it in his courtly manner then brought it to his lips. Sumita blushed furiously.

Lucy and Edmund exchanged knowing smiles. Peter always seemed to have that effect on girls, and the only one unaware of it was Peter himself. As the four of them walked to the picnic spot the boys had chosen, Lucy noticed Sumita glance at Peter and then look away hastily, blushing once again. Lucy smiled mischievously; now she had something to tease Sumita about for the next few weeks.

A/N I'm really sorry this took so long to get up. I had gastroenteritis last week then after I recovered a there was a mad rush to get ready for Christmas. Hopefully the next chapter will not take so long. My thanks to everyone who reviewed, please let me know what you thought of this chapter. And Merry Christmas to you all!


	3. Laboratory Woes

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 3: Laboratory Woes

Lucy stared in disgust at the contents of her reaction flask. According to her instruction booklet the reaction should have produced a green slurry that was then to be poured into distilled water. The mixture her experiment had produced was certainly green, but it was so thick it just would not pour.

It was Lucy and Sumita's first day in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory and they had been thrown into the deep end, with a two-step synthesis and characterisation of the final product. Unfortunately, even the first step was not going according to plan. Looking across to the next bench, Lucy saw Sumita seemed to be having similar problems.

"Are you having the same trouble as me?" Lucy asked.

"This stuff is too thick," Sumita said. "I nearly broke the stirrer trying to get it out."

Turning back to her experiment, Lucy tried to scrape the mixture out with a spatula but with little success; it was like trying to scrape out wet cement. Frustrated, she dipped the spatula into the beaker of water and was surprised to see the mixture adhering to it dissolve immediately. Encouraged by this, she poured the water into her flask and to her delight the mixture dissolved completely to leave a dark green solution.

"Sumita I've got it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You just have to pour the water onto the mixture instead!"

"It works!" Sumita exclaimed, after following Lucy's suggestion. "Well I suppose we can start working it up then."

At that moment the two girls were joined by one of the graduate lab assistants. He was a rather plumb, sandy haired young man in his late twenties by the name of Steven Clovis.

"How are you ladies getting on?" he enquired.

"All right" Lucy told him. "We were having a bit of trouble before. We couldn't pour out the mixture so we poured the water onto it instead."

"Yes, that often happens with Friedel-Crafts reactions," Clovis informed them. "The mixtures they produce are usually too viscous to pour."

"They should change the instructions then," Lucy suggested.

Clovis shrugged. "It's good training actually. Experiments don't always go as published procedures suggest and you have to learn to cope with that, especially if you go into research. Not that either of you need worry about that of course."

"Why not?" Sumita asked. Lucy was pretty sure she already knew what the answer would be and Steven Clovis promptly confirmed her suspicions.

"Well you're girls," he reminded them, his smile condescending. "Neither of you are going to get good enough degrees to do research."

He turned away, obviously not realising how offensive his remark had been. Sumita scowled and Lucy, who was still holding the three necked reaction flask, had to exercise all her restraint not to smash it over his retreating head.

"Of all the arrogant, condescending twerps!" Sumita fumed.

Lucy shook her head in exasperation. "Too many men are like that!" she muttered. "Assume that just because we're female we must have inferior brains."

Turning back to her experiment, Lucy began the lengthy procedure of extracting and purifying the product. The solution had to be extracted with ether, which was then evaporated, and the ketone product separated by distilling under vacuum. It all took another two hours but eventually she had a pure chemical ready to be used in the next step the following week. Sumita finished at the same time as her.

"Oh I am so tired!" Sumita groaned, bending over to rub her knees.

Lucy just nodded in agreement. In Narnia she had fought in battles and taken part in weeklong trade negotiations, but she had seldom felt as exhausted as she did now. It wasn't so much that chemistry was that physically demanding; it was more the mental strain. You had to pay constant attention to what you were doing.

"Feeling the strain, Pevensie?" To the annoyance of both girls Mortimer Johnson had now joined them. "I'm as fresh as a daisy!"

Unfortunately for him, he yawned widely after saying that. Sumita started laughing.

"You certainly look it!" she giggled.

Johnson glared at her. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Chatterjee!" he snapped.

"I'm just as entitled to speak my mind as you are, Johnson," Sumita snapped back.

"You're not entitled to anything!" The young man looked at her furiously. "I don't know what you're even doing at Cambridge. You Indians have got your precious Independence now, so why the hell don't you go back home and wallow in it? You're certainly not wanted here! We've got enough wogs swarming over the country as it is!"

For a moment Sumita glared back at him. Then to Lucy's dismay her face crumpled and tears filled her eyes. She turned and ran towards the lab doors.

"Sumita!" Lucy called out to her.

"Leave me alone!" the Indian girl wailed as she barged through the heavy fire doors and disappeared from sight.

Lucy rounded on Johnson furiously.

"That was a terrible thing to say!"

"Upset because I had a go at your darkie friend are you, Pevensie?" Johnson didn't look remorseful in the slightest; in fact he seemed very pleased with himself. "It's woolly minded liberals like you that are destroying the British Empire!"

"The Empire?" Lucy snorted derisively. "The Empire is just about finished and it's got nothing to do with liberal ideas, it's just had its day that's all."

Johnson was looking at her balefully. "We lost India because of sentimental liberals like you. If we lose the other colonies it'll be for the same reason."

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Lucy snapped. "Just wake up and look at reality Johnson. Do you realise the state the country's in? The war's been over five years and we still have rationing. Britain was almost bankrupt a few years ago and we're so in debt to America now it'll take decades to pay it off. Do you honestly think we can afford an empire any more?"

"Why not?" he retorted furiously. "The French are just as badly off as we are and I can't see them giving up their colonies."

Lucy shrugged. "Knowing how bloody minded the French can be maybe not," she admitted. "But if they do try to hang on to their colonies they'll pay a heavy price for it. It'll mean years of fighting, trying to put down insurrection, and in the end they'll be forced to give up when the cost becomes too high. I don't see Britain doing that. We'll give the rest of the Empire independence willingly and that way at least we'll still have influence in those countries. Whether you like it or not Johnson, nationalism will be one of the great movements of the next few decades and there's just not the will in this country to resist it."

"You filthy little traitor!" Johnson spat at her. "It's people like you, with no pride in their country, that are ruining England!"

Lucy glared at him, outraged that anyone would call her a traitor.

"I am proud of my country!" she declared. "Just not the way you are! It's not wealth or military power that make Britain great Johnson, it's culture and tradition."

Walking towards one of the bay windows, Lucy gestured out of it.

"Tell me Johnson, what do you see there?"

Following her to the window, Johnson looked at where she was pointing.

"It's the King's College Chapel." He shrugged dismissively. "What of it?"

"That chapel and its choir that are renowned across the world." Lucy reminded him "Every Christmas Eve they have the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols there and that service, or recordings of it, are broadcast in dozens of countries, bringing the Christmas message of hope and peace to millions. It's things like that that make me proud to be British Johnson, not your juvenile fantasies of power and glory!"

Turning away from him, Lucy walked towards the lab doors.

"And now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my friend!"

Not waiting to hear what Johnson might say in reply, and not particularly caring, Lucy pushed through the lab fire doors and set out to find Sumita.

After trying several possible places in the Department Lucy looked outside. She found Sumita just by the entrance, leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette.

Walking up to her, Lucy placed a tentative hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

Sumita did not speak but she nodded, and taking a final drag of her cigarette threw the remains of it away.

"It always hurts, you know," she said at last. "I've had such things said to me before, worse than that actually but you never get used to it, it always hurts. Most of the time you can ignore it, pretend it doesn't affect you but sometimes..." she hesitated, visibly struggling to control her emotions, "sometimes it's just too much."

She turned to look at her friend and gave her a rather wan smile. Sumita was trying her hardest to appear composed, but Lucy could tell by the way her make up had smeared that she had been crying.

"I look awful don't I?" Sumita asked, seeming to guess Lucy's thoughts.

"Not awful," Lucy assured her gently. "But I think your make up could do with a few touches!"

Taking a powder compact fro her handbag, Sumita spent a couple of minutes trying to put her appearance to rights.

"There," she said at last, closing the compact. "That's the best I can do for now."

"You look fine," Lucy told her. "But I think we should be getting back to college now. It's gone five!"

"I suppose so." The two girls started to walk towards the bus stop on Pembroke Street. "It's not really been that good a day has it, Lucy?"

"Not the last part of it," Lucy admitted. "But we survived our first day in the lab and we completed the first part of our experiment. That has to mean some sort of success."

"You're right!" Sumita agreed, giving her friend a smile, a genuine one this time Lucy was relieved to see. "Perhaps the two of us will make scientists yet!"

"I hope so!" Lucy said, returning Sumita's smile. " I certainly hope so!"

As they waited for a bus to take them back to Girton, the two girls fell into a companionable silence. Lucy decided that all she wanted now was a hot bath, followed by supper then an early night.

It had been a very tiring day.


	4. Trouble and Strife

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 4 Trouble and Strife

"What do you make the last one, Lucy?" Sumita asked.

"Hold on a minute!" Lucy flicked through logarithm tables and scribbled rough calculations. "Three hundred and seventeen nanometers."

Same here!" Sumita smiled happily. "This assignment was easy!"

They had been completing the first written assignment given to them in the Introductory Chemistry course. Although they each had a desk they had ignored them and both ended up sprawled on the floor, surrounded by books and papers. Their room, which had looked so neat at the start of term barely a week ago, was now decidedly untidy.

Both girls began writing their work up neatly and just as they finished there was a sharp rap on the door.

"Come in," Lucy called out.

The door opened and Alice Pearson stepped into the room.

"What do you want?" Sumita asked shortly, not especially pleased to see her.

"There's a visitor for you Chatterjee, in the common room."

"A visitor for me?" Sumita looked puzzled. "Who on earth could that be?"

"One of your sort!" Alice sniffed disdainfully. "Says he's your uncle."

"Uncle Ruhan?" Sumita's face lit up in a delighted smile. "I didn't even know he was in England. I thought he was still in South Africa!"

"Well he's in the common room now so you'd better not keep him waiting." With that Alice left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Oh Lucy, you must meet my uncle," Sumita said excitedly as she was putting her shoes on. "He's a wonderful man!"

"I'd love to meet him, but I'd better tidy this room up first," Lucy said, looking round at the mess on the floor.

Seeing how fond Sumita obviously was of her uncle, Lucy thought it would be better to give them a few private moments before she intruded.

"All right, but don't be too long," Sumita told her. "You really will love Uncle Ruhan!"

Sumita dashed out of their room and Lucy began gathering books and papers, trying to restore some semblance of tidiness. When she was satisfied things looked reasonably respectable she put her shoes on and headed for the common room.

She stopped outside the common room door and was rather alarmed to hear voices raised in anger.

"You must be insane!" she heard Sumita shouting. "I'm not going to marry anyone. Least of all him!"

Lucy heard a deep male voice with a heavy Indian accent reply. "I am your father girl and you will do as I command. The marriage has already been arranged and it will happen whether you agree or not!"

"You're not my father!" Lucy gasped at the hatred in Sumita's voice. "After what you did you have no right to call yourself that. Uncle Ruhan is more a father to me than you ever were and he'll never agree to this!"

"That liberal fool Ruhan has spoiled you, daughter," Lucy heard the male voice reply. "He's allowed you to become too westernised. Drinking, smoking, who knows what other unsuitable habits. You should never have been schooled in England or allowed to come here. But it ends now, you leave with me today."

"No, keep away!" Sumita screamed. "Don't touch me, don't ever touch me!"

Up until now Lucy had remained outside, reluctant to intervene in what seemed to be a family dispute. But the panic in Sumita's voice forced her to act.

Opening the common room door, she stepped inside. Sumita was cowering in a corner of the room, her wrists held by a tall heavyset Indian man with greying hair. Lucy was shocked by the expression on her face. She was looking at the man who had called himself her father with hatred and fear, along with what Lucy could only describe as revulsion.

"What's going on here?" Lucy shouted.

The man turned round in surprise, relaxing his grip on Sumita's wrists. She tore herself free and rushed to Lucy, holding on to her in a fierce hug. She was trembling uncontrollably.

"Oh Lucy, it was all a horrible trick!" Sumita gasped. "This isn't my uncle at all!"

"I gathered that," Lucy said calmly. She turned to the stranger. "So you're Sumita's father, are you?"

He strode forward to stand in front of her, scowling fiercely. He had a deeply lined face with uneven yellow stained teeth and the impression Lucy got was of a brutal and violently tempered man.

"Yes, I am!" he declared. "And this is none of your concern, young woman, so leave me to speak with my daughter."

"Sumita is my friend," Lucy told him. "Anything that affects her is my concern."

"I warn you girl, do not interfere," he snarled at her.

For a moment Lucy feared he would attack her. He was an intimidating figure as he loomed over her, twice her weight and probably more than twice her strength. But Lucy refused to be intimidated. She had led warriors into battle and stood as an equal before kings and emperors; she would not quail before one unarmed man. As she thought of this, memories of a hundred battles and skirmishes returned to her. The quiet noises of the common room, the soft ticking of the clock and Sumita's uneven panicky breathing, faded from her consciousness to be replaced by the sounds of war. In her mind Lucy heard the clash of steel and the whiz of arrows, the screams of the wounded and dying and her own voice crying 'Narnia! Narnia! The Lion!' as she flung herself into the tumult of battle, twin daggers in her hands. She was Lucy the Valiant of Narnia again, meeting the glare of this unwelcome visitor with growing authority and power, knowing though as always that it was not her strength alone but a power that came from One outside herself.

As she stared unflinchingly into the eyes of the man who confronted her, Lucy watched as his expression slowly changed, from anger to astonishment then to fear.

"Leave now!" Lucy commanded him. "You have come here under false pretences and are not welcome!

Her voice echoed powerfully through the room, ringing with a note of authority it was impossible to ignore.

Lucy saw him flinch as she spoke. His eyes flickered then he broke away from her gaze, seeming almost to shrink, to diminish in stature, and she knew that her will had prevailed.

He turned from her, stalking to the door.

"This is not over!" he growled, and then walked through the door and turned into the corridor, disappearing from sight.

Lucy turned to comfort Sumita, expecting her to be distraught, but instead found her friend staring at her with undisguised awe.

"Sumita, what is it?" Lucy asked. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"He was frightened of you!" Sumita replied. "My father was actually frightened of you!" She looked at Lucy in wonder. "I don't think I've ever seen him frightened of anyone except my uncle, certainly not of a girl. He's always treated women with contempt!"

"I think you're exaggerating a bit," Lucy said uncomfortably. "I'm not a frightening person."

Sumita shook her head.

"I was almost frightened of you, Lucy," she confessed. "You just looked so powerful somehow, so…well majestic is the only word I can think of, like a warrior queen from an ancient legend. I couldn't help thinking you should have been wearing armour and a crown instead of a skirt and sweater!"

Now Lucy felt even more awkward. Sumita seemed uncomfortably close to something she was not yet ready to reveal. She decided the best thing to do was change the subject.

"Sumita, what was all that about?" she asked.

With a sigh, Sumita settled herself in one of the common room chairs and beckoned Lucy to join her. Lucy took a chair facing her friend.

"I've never mentioned my father, have I?" she asked.

Lucy shook her head. "I remember you saying you've lived with your mother and uncle since you were seven, so I presumed he must be dead. I didn't want to question you about it."

"Unfortunately he's not dead!" Sumita responded. "My mother left him when I was seven and took me to live with her brother. Getting away from my father was the main reason we moved to South Africa."

"Why did she leave him?" Lucy asked. "I don't know much about Indian customs but I would have thought that's rather unusual."

"I didn't see much of him again until this year," Sumita ignored her question, something Lucy did not fail to notice "He turned up at a graduation party for me and my school friends and I just thank God my uncle was there or who knows what might have happened. He started criticising me at once, saying my dress was immodest and I shouldn't be wearing make up." Sumita grimaced "I was dressed more conservatively and wearing less make up than most other girls there, but he still implied I looked like a prostitute and he was furious when he saw me drinking a glass of wine. He accused Uncle Ruhan of letting western ideas corrupt me. Then when he caught me lighting a cigarette he went berserk. He started screaming I was acting like a harlot, and my uncle had him thrown out."

"That's a rather extreme reaction," Lucy said thoughtfully. "I know you only smoke occasionally and it's hardly a dreadful sin, is it? Besides, judging by the state of your father's teeth I'd guess he's a pretty heavy smoker himself."

"He is!" Sumita agreed. "And he drinks like a fish! From what I remember as a little girl he was more often drunk than sober!"

"Oh, so he condemns you for doing in moderation what he does to excess! Well that's very fair!" Lucy said sarcastically.

Sumita smiled rather sadly. "It's hypocritical yes, but that sort of double standard is actually normal in India. Men are free to adopt European dress and customs but women have to follow traditional values. It's not just hypocrisy Lucy, it's a way of controlling women, of keeping them submissive."

"But it seems he's not just criticising your life style any more," Lucy observed. "From what I heard he's trying to force you into marriage."

Sumita nodded. "According to him it's for my own good, to make me into 'a properly modest Indian girl' as he puts it. But that's just an excuse. I'm certain the real reason is about money!"

"Money?" Lucy repeated the last word in surprise.

"Yes money!" Sumita said. "The man he wants me to marry is a money lender and my father has owed him money on and off for years. When we were still in India he kept forcing my mother to sponge off my uncle for him so he could repay his debts. After she left he couldn't of course and I know he's gotten really deep into debt. I'm sure he plans to use me to get out of that."

"You mean he'll force you to marry this man in exchange for his debts being cancelled," Lucy said. "That's appalling! I always thought it was the other way round in India, that the bride's family paid a dowry."

"They usually do, but the practice of 'bride-price', the groom paying the brides family used to be customary as well," Sumita explained. "Sometimes it was far greater than the dowry so it amounted to girls actually being sold. There was a campaign against it a few years before I was born and it's not supposed to happen any more, but of course it still does in secret. If my father succeeded in making me marry this man he would probably pay a token amount as a dowry, just to make it look respectable, but he would be the one who would gain overall."

Lucy was outraged that any father would be prepared to sacrifice his daughter's happiness like this for monetary gain. But a question still puzzled her; one Sumita had seemed reluctant to answer.

"You still haven't explained why your mother left your father." Lucy hesitated then forced herself to voice the ugly suspicion that had come to her. "Sumita, did he beat you and your mother?"

"Don't ask me to explain that Lucy!" Sumita's voice shook and Lucy could see her trembling with emotion. "Please, just don't ask me!"

"All right Sumita." Lucy said hastily. "I'm sorry!"

She was fairly sure now her suspicion was right, certainly she couldn't think of anything else that would upset Sumita so much. But seeing her friend's distress Lucy realised it would be better not to pursue the issue. For a moment Lucy felt a little hurt that she would not confide in her, but then reminded herself she had no cause to complain. After all, she had not told Sumita about Narnia and was not sure she ever would; it was not something easy to explain. Everyone had secrets they were unwilling to confide to others; even she had ones she had not revealed even to her siblings.

"It's getting late," Lucy said, looking at the clock and getting to her feet. "We'll need to go to supper soon."

"Lucy, I'm scared," Sumita told her as she got up as well. She looked tense and frightened. "What if my father hasn't gone? What if he's still in the college somewhere, waiting to get me alone?"

Lucy couldn't bear to see her friend like this. Sumita was usually such a confident and self-assured person and it broke her heart to see her so frightened and uncertain.

"I'll tell you what, lets go down to the Porter's Lodge together," she suggested. "We can check he really has left the college and make sure they never let him in again."

Sumita threw herself at Lucy and hugged her fiercely. "Thank you, Lucy!" she whispered. "I just don't know what I'd do if you weren't here!"

Lucy returned the hug then gently pulled away from her friends embrace. "You'd do the same for me, Sumita," she said smiling. "Remember our pact the first day of term? We support each other!"

After the Porter had confirmed that Sumita's father had left, and Lucy had impressed on him he must never be admitted again, Sumita seemed to recover some of her self assurance, although she was still unusually subdued as they made their way to supper.

Lucy loved the atmosphere of the Dining Hall, perhaps because she was reminded of banquets at Cair Paravel. Supper was a truly magnificent occasion under the curved inner roof. The main body of the hall was filled with long tables for the students and at the far end on a raised platform was the Fellows Table, the wall behind emblazoned with the Girton College Arms. Wearing their gowns, the students sat at their places talking animatedly as kitchen staff bustled to and fro with plates of food. The white linen tablecloths were immaculate and at each place sparkling glasses and a set of gleaming silver cutlery had been positioned with mathematical precision. The only concession to modern circumstances was the ration book in front of each student.

As soon as service was completed, the talking died down and the students rose to their feet as the Dean and Fellows of the College entered and took their places at the high table. The Dean of College tapped her glass with a fork, and in the reverent hush that followed began to recite the Girton Grace.

"Benedice Domine, nobis et omnibus huius collegii alumnis, donisque tuis quae de munificentia tua sumus iam sumpturi; et illis salubriter nutriti debitas.." the Dean intoned.

Lucy's mind was not on the prayer, or even on the food. She was thinking about the events of the last hour, in particular the way Sumita had looked at her father. It reminded her of something she had seen in the past, and she was fairly sure it was something in Narnia, but just could not bring it to mind.

"…tibi gratias pie reddamus. Custodi, quaesumus, Domine filias et consule necessitatibus animarum et corporum, hoc ipso momento et in aeternum," the Dean concluded

"Amen!" the assembled students responded, then sat down in their places at table and began to talk and eat.

Lucy still could not recall what the thing or incident had been and decided to leave it for tonight. A lot had happened during her time in Narnia and she could not expect to remember everything at the drop of a hat. Lucy was sure it would come to her eventually and dismissing the matter for now turned her attention to supper.

A/N: A rough translation of the Girton Grace is as follows.

Bless us, O Lord, and all the members of this college, and also your gifts, which we are about to receive from your generosity; and having been wholesomely nourished by these let us dutifully give you the thanks we owe. Protect we ask you, O Lord, your daughters and provide for the needs of both our souls and bodies, at this present time and always.


	5. A Restless Night

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 5 A Restless Night

Sitting at her desk, Lucy adjusted the reading lamp then paused for a moment in thought, before starting to write.

Dear Susan

_I'm sorry I haven't written before; being a student keeps you very busy! But although I've only been here less than two weeks I think I've settled in quite comfortably and my studies are going very well. I've made a good friend in my roommate Sumita. She's studying pharmacology like me and she's a very sweet girl. I'm sure you'd like her, Su._

Lucy paused, wondering if she should mention Sumita's background and family problems. Although she hadn't mentioned it, she was rather worried about her friend. Sumita had seemed strained over the last few days since that encounter with her father. She had looked tired and been rather distracted in lectures and Lucy suspected she was not sleeping well; a few times she had woken up to find Sumita shouting something in her sleep, although she could never make out what it was.

After four days she was still no closer to identifying the elusive Narnian memory that had haunted her since supper in the Dining Hall that evening. She had tried everything; not thinking about it and dwelling on it obsessively, all to no avail. All she knew was it related to the way Sumita had looked at her father but she just could not pin it down. It was almost as though it was something she didn't want to remember. Unfortunately Susan would be no help at all, given her attitude to everything that related to Narnia. Lucy had considered asking her brothers, but she had so little to go on she doubted they could help.

She looked across the darkened room, to where Sumita was lying asleep. She had gone to bed early, saying she was exhausted after the difficult practical session that afternoon. Not wanting to disturb her, Lucy had put the lights out and used the reading lamp at her desk.

Lucy regretfully decided she could not discuss Sumita's problems with Susan, at least not without her friend's permission and she doubted Sumita would want that; after all she had never met Susan. It was a shame in a way as despite her disagreements with Susan over her sister's extraordinary, and to Lucy quite incomprehensible, dismissal of Narnia as children's games, she still valued her practical sister's common sense advice.

Lucy lifted her pen to write again when she was interrupted by a low moan from her sleeping friend.

"No, no, don't!" Sumita whimpered.

"Sumita?" Lucy queried softly.

Looking across the room she saw her friend was still asleep, but was now tossing restlessly. Getting up from her chair, Lucy crossed the room to kneel by Sumita's bed.

The Indian girl continued to move restlessly, her sleeping face contorted into a grimace. She spoke again; this time in a guttural language Lucy didn't recognise, but presumed was some Indian dialect.

Reaching out, Lucy gently brushed Sumita's hair from her forehead, which was damp with sweat. Sumita groaned and began speaking again, this time in English.

"No, no, you mustn't touch me like that! It's wrong! She whimpered. "No father, please don't! You're too big, it hurts!"

"Oh Dear Aslan!" Lucy whispered, her eyes wide with horror at the implications of what she had just heard.

It was all too clear just what Sumita was dreaming about and just what her father had done. Lucy remembered Sumita's extreme reluctance to discuss why her mother had left her father and it was plain now why. She had suspected Sumita's father had physically abused her; the possibility of sexual abuse, perpetrated against such a young child, had never occurred to her.

It was then the Narnian memory she had struggled so hard to recall came to her. It had been in the tenth year of their reign, when she and Edmund were visiting the Lone Islands. Edmund had spent considerable time judging some of the more important cases in the Narrowhaven Court. One in particular had been the case of an eleven-year-old girl who had been raped by her twenty-year-old brother. That girl had looked at her brother in exactly the way Sumita had looked at her father; it had been the same look of accusation, of betrayal of trust by one from whom you were most entitled to expect care and protection.

Lucy remembered now it was one of the few occasions she thought Edmund's sentence had been too lenient. He had sequestered all the man's assets and banished him from all the territories and possessions of Narnia on pain of death. Lucy had not been happy with that sentence; she suspected the man would eventually make his way to Calormen and probably live quite a comfortable life there. She had really felt a more drastic punishment was needed, although she had to admit she could not say what it should be. Lone Island justice was rough and summary, with no facility for long-term incarceration of prisoners and like Edmund, Lucy was unwilling to sanction the death penalty for anything short of murder or treason. Even in those circumstances, killing someone in cold blood instead of in the heat of battle was something she found hard to stomach.

Lucy turned her gaze back to her sleeping friend, who was still tossing fitfully. She found it incredible than anyone could have been through what she had suffered as a child and not be constantly embittered and resentful.

Sumita became more restless, throwing the blankets off her and muttering incoherently, then with a small scream she awoke, her eyes wild as looked round the darkened room then fixed on Lucy.

"Lucy!" Sumita whispered. "Why are you there? Is something wrong?"

"You were having a nightmare," Lucy told her. She hesitated then said, "You were talking in your sleep."

Sumita looked alarmed. "Did you make out anything I was saying?" she asked anxiously.

"A little," Lucy admitted.

She saw how worried Sumita looked at that. It was clear that her friend wanted to hide the truth about what her father had done. But Lucy was convinced it would be better to bring it out into he open. She could see Sumita was being torn up inside and was sure it would help her to talk about this with someone sympathetic.

"Sumita, when you were a child in India, did your father..." Lucy hesitated then forced herself to continue. "Did he ever molest you?"

Sumita said nothing, but she turned away, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobbing. It was the only answer Lucy needed.

"Oh Sumita!" she whispered, reaching out to hug her friend.

Sumita clung to her like a drowning man clutching a piece of flotsam. She remained like that for several minutes, crying quietly. Eventually she became calm enough to tell Lucy what she had kept hidden until now.

"It started just before my seventh birthday," she told her. "He came to my room one night and…" she stopped, unable to go on.

"It's alright, Sumita," Lucy reassured her. "You don't need to go into details. But what about your mother, did she realise what was happening?"

"Not at first," Sumita explained. "My father terrified me into not telling her. He said if I did, he would beat her again then do to her what he was doing to me." She smiled bitterly. "You have to remember I was just a child, Lucy. I didn't understand the significance of what my father was doing to me. All I knew was it hurt me and felt wrong."

"So he did beat your mother!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yes," Sumita admitted. "Usually when he was drunk and often he started hitting me first, then turned on my mother when she tried to protect me."

"How did your mother find out about what he was doing to you?" Lucy asked. "I presume that's why she left him."

Sumita nodded. "I didn't know at the time. My father was away for a few days and she just took me to her brother Ruhan and we never went back. Years later she explained about being unable to sleep one night and hearing the noises that came from my room. She didn't dare do anything at the time, but got me away as soon as she could." Sumita sighed. "She had put up with the physical abuse because she thought it was her duty as a wife, but she couldn't bear the idea of him molesting me."

Lucy was just horrified by all of this. Her friend's early life was like something out of a nightmare. Lucy had been brought up in a loving family, with a very caring father. What Sumita had described was something she found difficult to imagine.

"And now he's trying to get hold of me again, and I'm scared Lucy," Sumita confessed. "I saw the way he looked at me, he still wants me that way! I'm sure one of the reasons he's' trying to make me marry this man is so I'll be back in India, away from my uncle's protection, so he'll have access to me again. This moneylender he wants me to marry is completely unscrupulous. It wouldn't even surprise me if my father had some sort of agreement with him to share me"

"He ought to be shot!" Lucy exclaimed angrily. "I'm sorry Sumita, I know he's your father, but a man like that doesn't deserve to live! He should be put down like a mad dog!"

Sumita turned away without replying. She started shaking again and began to cry.

"Oh, Sumita I'm sorry!" Lucy exclaimed. "I shouldn't have said that!"

"It's not that!" her friend sobbed. "I feel so ashamed Lucy!"

"Ashamed?" Lucy repeated. "Sumita, it's not your fault, your father is the one to blame!"

"That's' what I keep telling myself," Sumita replied. "But sometimes I feel I must be responsible somehow. Maybe my father is right Lucy, maybe I am a loose, wicked girl, maybe I tempted him somehow without knowing!"

"That's just nonsense!" Lucy told her firmly. "You're one of the nicest people I've ever met, Sumita. It's your father who's immoral and wicked."

Sumita hardly seemed to hear her.

"And I keep thinking about what the woman who taught my confirmation class said. That purity was especially important for girls, that virginity is a special gift that should be saved for a husband." Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. "I don't have that gift Lucy, I haven't since I was six. How can I explain that if I marry someone?"

Lucy almost groaned aloud, wishing she could get hold of Sumita's confirmation teacher and give her a good shake. Rationally, she knew the woman had meant well, but her remarks had not exactly been helpful.

"Well it's very unlikely any man you marry would be untouched himself, so I shouldn't worry," Lucy told her.

She was being flippant, trying to ease the tension, but it backfired on her.

"It's all very well for you to be so humorous about it!" Sumita snapped angrily. "I know what you're going to say Lucy. That it's a double standard, a relic from the times women were looked on as men's property! And that's true but it doesn't help me at all. We have to cope with the world the way it is, not the way we'd like it to be!" Sumita irritably brushed some strands of hair away from her face. "I know you mean well Lucy but I don't think you can really understand how I feel. You're still a virgin. You won't have to give difficult explanations on your wedding night."

Lucy was rather taken aback by her friend's anger. It was the closest they had come to a quarrel so far. But she understood Sumita's point of view and knew there was only one thing she could do in this situation. Taking a deep breath, Lucy admitted something she had thought she might take to her grave.

"I'm not, Sumita," she whispered.

"Not what?" her friend asked, looking puzzled.

"I'm not a virgin."

Sumita stared at her, her face a picture of shock and astonishment.

"How?" she asked at last

Lucy could not help an amused smile. "Well there's really only one way it can happen!"

Sumita did not laugh, she still looked stunned by her friend's revelation. Lucy knew after admitting that there was no point in withholding details.

"It was some time ago, more than a year," she said. It was not a lie but not the complete truth either. "I met this young man and we were attracted to each other and fell in love." Lucy shrugged. "We got carried away, the usual story. I dare say it's happened to thousands of other girls."

"Don't you regret it?" Sumita asked, still looking bewildered.

"No, I don't," Lucy replied. "I often tell myself that I should be ashamed, that I should regret it, but the truth is I don't." Lucy looked at Sumita with some trepidation. "I suppose now you think I'm some awful immoral slut!"

"Oh Lucy I would never think that!" Sumita assured her. She reached out and gave her friend's hand a tentative squeeze "It's just rather a shock that's' all, not something I would expect of you."

"And why not?" Lucy asked, looking rather offended. "I have the same desires as any other girl my age!" Then her expression softened. "I'm sorry, Sumita," she apologised, "but I get annoyed sometimes the way people idealise me, especially my brothers. They seem to think of me as some sort of saint or angel but I'm not. I'm a normal eighteen-year-old girl and just as human and fallible as anyone else. My brothers are wonderful but they have this unrealistic image of me and it's a bit of a burden at times. That's why I never told them about my relationship with Corvan"

"His name is Corvan?" Sumita asked. Lucy nodded.

"It's rather an odd name!"

"Oh! Well he wasn't English," Lucy told her. She saw no point in trying to explain to Sumita that her former lover was not only from a different country but also from a different world.

"Aren't you still seeing him?" Sumita asked

Lucy shook her head. "He died," she said simply. "He died in a … well a sailing accident is the best way of putting it."

"Oh Lucy I'm so sorry!" Sumita said.

Lucy nodded slowly. "So was I!" she whispered.

She could see her friend struggling to come up with a sympathetic remark and wished she wouldn't bother. No words could really be adequate, but what Sumita eventually said surprised her.

"Was he a Christian?"

Lucy hesitated. "Yes," she said at last. "I think you could call him a Christian."

"Well then at least you know you'll meet him again," Sumita assured her awkwardly.

"Oh yes!" Lucy said bitterly. "I'll meet him again in heaven won't I?"

"Don't you believe that?" Sumita looked a bit disconcerted by Lucy's attitude.

"Of course I do" Lucy said. "But it's not much comfort Sumita. Remember what it says in the Gospels? 'In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage.' It is some comfort to know that he isn't lost, that God has a purpose for him that won't be wasted. But it's no comfort to me as a woman. I'll never be his wife now, or have his children and I wanted that so much! Those hopes I had are lost forever."

Lucy got up from Sumita's bedside and went to the window, staring out across the darkened quadrangle. "That's why I don't regret sleeping with Corvan. I still support the idea of celibacy outside of marriage as the ideal, even though I failed to live up to it. If he had survived and we got married I probably would have been sorry we didn't wait. But now I can't bring myself to feel that. At least I experienced what it was like for us to be fully together as man and woman before I lost him. Perhaps I'm being selfish and sinful to feel that way but I can't help it."

Walking back across the room, Lucy sat on her bed facing Sumita.

"Neither of us meet the expectations society has for unmarried girls," Lucy told her. "But I don't through my own choice. You had no choice about what happened to you Sumita. It's true what you said, that we have to deal with the world as it is, but we don't have to just give up and let ourselves be victims of it either. It's hard to fight against something like that I know, but you're strong enough to do it Sumita. Anyone who can go through what have and still be such a kind and well adjusted person is no weakling."

Sumita sat silently, thinking about what Lucy had said and looking rather more composed than she had been a few moments ago. Lucy realised though that a few minutes conversation could not heal the scars left by her childhood; it would probably take Sumita years to come to terms with her past, if she ever did completely at all. But Lucy hoped she had helped her a little and was determined to help her more in the future, especially now her vile excuse for a father was back on the scene. Lucy silently promised herself she would do everything in her power to protect her friend.

"I think we'd both better retire for the night," Lucy suggested. "Do you think you can sleep alright now?"

"I'm not sure." Some of Sumita's tension seemed to return. "I've had a lot of nightmares the last few nights."

"Yes, I suspected as much," Lucy said. "Hold on a minute!"

She got up and took something from the drawer in her bedside table and went to the small sink in the corner of the room, returning a moment later with a glass containing a milky white suspension.

"Here," Lucy said, offering the glass to her friend.

"What is it?" Sumita asked.

"Veronal." At Sumita's questioning look Lucy explained, "I suffer from insomnia occasionally and this is the only thing that helps."

Sumita frowned. "I'm not sure about this, I don't like resorting to drugs."

"Neither do I as a rule," Lucy agreed. "But once in a while doesn't hurt and you really need a good nights sleep."

"Alright!" Taking the glass, Sumita downed it in one gulp, grimacing a little at the taste. Handing the empty glass back to Lucy, she settled back into bed, pulling the covers over her.

Lucy watched Sumita as her breathing gradually slowed and settled into the calm pattern of sleep. Satisfied, she changed into her nightclothes and putting out the lamp at her desk got into bed.

She lay awake, staring into the darkness. Her mind was relentlessly going over the events of the night, the horror that was Sumita's childhood and her own admission of something she had kept secret for so long. Against her will, Lucy found herself recalling another event from her time in Narnia, one she had gone over in her mind countless times.

_She ran through the woods neighbouring Cair Paravel, not really caring where she was going. Lucy's breathing was laboured and there was an agonising stitch in her side as she left the cover of the trees and came to the seashore. Exhausted, the young Queen dropped to her knees in the sand._

"_Why?" she screamed into the overcast sky._

_She collapsed sobbing, sprawling on the wet sand and not caring that she was ruining one of her favourite gowns. Her grief was unbearable, intensified even more by the long hours of pretence. Even since news of Corvan's death in a shipwreck off the coast of Terebinthia had arrived, she had been forced to pretend her shock was only what you night feel at the death of a casual acquaintance, not the inconsolable despair she actually felt at the loss of a man who was her entire universe. _

_Lucy wailed, pounding her fist into the sand as she recalled that final night together before he left, the frenzied passion of their kisses, his strong hands caressing her bare flesh. To her shame and dismay Lucy could feel herself becoming aroused by those memories, wanting Corvan again despite knowing he was dead. It was as though her own body had betrayed her and was mocking her grief, the sweet ache that stirred in her loins taunting her with its insistent demand for something that could never be again. _

"_Why Aslan?" Lucy sobbed, as she lay prone upon the damp sand, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Was this you punishing him for dishonouring a Narnian Queen? Then why not punish me as well for giving myself to him so eagerly? Why not take my life too? Or is this my punishment, to be left without him?"_

_She buried her face in her arms, sobs wracking her body. She felt as though she would cry forever, that her tears came from a bottomless wellspring of sorrow. But of course eventually she could weep no longer and lay there on the sand, feeling drained and totally desolate, as though nothing would ever matter again._

_It was then she became aware of the subtle change in her surroundings. The dull light of the autumn sky seemed brighter and more golden; the wild scent of the sea now mingled with another, wilder and headier, fragrance. A fragrance Lucy knew only too well. She knew He was there and felt no surprise at the deep voice that broke the silence. _

"_Why do you weep, Daughter of Eve?"_

"_You know perfectly well why!" Lucy said bitterly. She looked up to stare into the deep solemn eyes of the Great Lion. "Was what we did so terrible Aslan, that you had to punish us like this? We loved each other! We planned to marry! When he returned from Terebinthia we were going to announce our engagement. Peter wouldn't have been happy given our disputes with Terebinthia but I would have persuaded him. All I wanted was to be with him, to be his wife and bear his children! Is that really so dreadful?"_

"_No Dearest it is not, nor is what has happened a punishment for either of you," Aslan replied. "But it was never meant for your destinies to be joined in such a way."_

_Lucy stared into the eyes of the King above all High Kings. She could see His compassion and love for her, but also a purpose that transcended the temporal happiness of His creatures, a purpose that included all times and place, and all worlds, in it's design._

_At that moment Lucy hated that design and she wanted to hate Aslan as well, but she could not. Despite what had happened, no matter how angry she felt, Lucy could no more hate Aslan than she could hate herself._

_With a sob, she flung herself at the Lion, burying her face in His mane. She remained there, she couldn't have said herself how long, the rich fragrance that always seemed to come from Aslan's mane washing over her. Gradually, Lucy felt herself becoming calmer. Her grief was no less, but now she had the strength to bear it, and to trust Aslan and accept His will for her, no matter how shattering it might be for her personal hopes._

"_I don't regret it Aslan," Lucy said at last. She looked up and stared into the Lion's face, a hint of defiance in her manner. "I don't regret giving myself to him. Maybe it's dreadfully wicked and wrong of me but I don't care!"_

"_I do not ask you to regret it, Dear One," the Lion replied. "What has happened has happened and will not be undone. Yet all experience can be valuable, whether good or ill. The day will come when someone will be helped greatly by knowing what you shared with Corvan."_

"_How can that be?" Lucy asked. She looked down at the sand, not meeting Aslan's eyes. "How can knowing that Corvan was my lover help anyone?"_

"_You will understand when the time comes, Daughter of Eve!"_

_The Lions' reply sounded faint and remote to her ears, as though coming from a vast distance. Looking up, Lucy saw that Aslan was gone; it was again a dull autumn day with the nearby sea the only smell that reached her nostrils. Yet she knew it had been no dream as there were His paw prints in the sand in front of her. Looking back along the shore Lucy noticed something else. She could see her footprints stretching away from the beach and into the woods, where she had ran wildly in her grief, heedless of where she was going. But those footprints were not alone. Alongside them were the huge paw prints of the Lion and Lucy knew then that even in the depths of her despair, Aslan had been with her._

She understood now what Aslan had meant. Even though the circumstances were very different, it seemed to help Sumita that she was not alone in failing to meet society's expectations. Lucy sighed; at least her limited experience of sex had been happy, which was more than could be said for poor Sumita. A tear slowly trickled down her cheek and she wasn't sure if she was crying more for her friend or herself.

It was a long time before she slept that night.


	6. Brains and Cauliflower Cheese

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 6: Brains and Cauliflower Cheese

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Trumpington Street was the largest hospital in Cambridge and the home of the University Medical School. It was a fairly spacious Victorian building that had quite a chequered history, the original building having been pulled down in the middle of the last century and the present edifice constructed on the same site. Although this present building was much larger than its earlier incarnation, its use in this new era of the National Health Service had already outgrown current space and plans were underway for a new hospital at a different location.

But neither the hospital's past or future concerned Lucy or Sumita as they went in through the Main Entrance and made their way to one of the Medical School's lecture theatres. They had already attended lectures here as part of their Anatomy and Physiology course, but today was of unusual significance. Today they would be watching a complete human dissection and Sumita was feeling nervous about it.

"I'm really not sure how I'll cope with this, Lucy," she said.

"Well you must have done dissections at school," Lucy reminded her. "It can't be that different."

"Yes, but they were animals, not human beings," Sumita replied. "That does make a difference. I'm worried I might be sick or faint, especially with Johnson there. He wouldn't hesitate to make a big thing out of that!"

"Try not to worry about it," Lucy advised her. "The more nervous you are, the more likely it is you'll react badly. Try to think about something nice."

"Like what?" Sumita asked. "And please don't say boys!"

Lucy laughed. "I wasn't going to! Try thinking about the Sunday after next, we're going to a Sung Eucharist at King's with Peter, remember?"

Sumita smiled. She had been excited when Lucy had arranged the trip with her brother and had cheerfully put up with her friend teasing her about fancying Peter.

"I'm looking forward to it," she admitted. "I think my uncle has some gramophone recordings by that choir. I've only heard snatches of them but they did sound lovely."

"It sounds even better when you're actually there," Lucy told her. "I don't think even the best gramophone recordings can properly capture a musical performance, especially with church music. The acoustic is such an important part of the experience."

The girl's discussion was cut short by the arrival of the other pharmacology students. Mark Lewisham greeted the two girls pleasantly, as did a few of the other boys. Lucy could not remember all their names, but it encouraged her that more of the male students were now accepting of them.

Mortimer Johnson was there as well of course, looking as immaculately dressed and as arrogant as ever. Lucy had not had much contact with him since that afternoon in the lab when he had been so rude to Sumita. He had been keeping out of her way and Lucy had been quite happy with that situation. When he addressed her though, she realised it had been too good to last.

"Here all bright and early, eh Pevensie?" he sneered. Apart from a brief contemptuous glance he completely ignored Sumita. "Should be interesting today, although it's bound to be a bit much for a girl. Don't worry though, I'll be ready to catch you when you swoon!"

"That's very gallant of you, Johnson!" Lucy's smile and tone of voice were positively mocking. "But you never know. Maybe you'll be the one who swoons into my arms!"

The other young men burst into laughter. Mark grinned and winked at her but Johnson turned a furious red, obviously not liking being made fun of like this.

"Oh very funny, Pevensie!" he snapped at her. "Just wait until the dissection starts then we'll see how you take it. You're just a …"

But Lucy never found out what she was because at that moment they were called to enter the lecture theatre.

They had never been in this room before and the first thing Lucy noticed was the strong smell of disinfectant. The next thing, which occasioned hushed whispering from the students, was the large table at the centre of the amphitheatre of benches. A large white sheet was spread over it, covering what was clearly a body. Surrounding the dissection table were smaller tables and trolleys holding trays of menacing looking instruments.

The students took their places on the benches; as usual Lucy sat near the front with Sumita on her left and Mark on her right. The lecturer, who Lucy remembered was called Professor Goldberg, was already in front of the dissection table, waiting for them to settle down.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" he said.

There was a murmur of response fro the assembled students.

"As you are probably aware, today you will be watching a human dissection. This is not something that is required for pharmacology students in some universities, but a basic knowledge of human anatomy is essential for any medical discipline, and I have always felt that actually observing the structure of the body at first hand is the best way of inculcating such understanding."

He looked over the assembled students and smiled before continuing. "Now I realise that most, if not all of you, will never have seen anything like this before and it could be upsetting for some people. For this reason a bucket has been placed outside the door. If you are going to be sick, try to be sick there rather than in the theatre and both I and the hospital cleaners will thank you!"

There was rather weak laughter from a few people. Lucy felt that he wasn't really trying that hard to reassure the more nervous students. She didn't have any real qualms about watching the dissection herself, but she knew Sumita was quite nervous, and Mark looked a little tense as well.

Without any further introduction, the lecturer pulled the sheet away from the prone body, eliciting a few gasps from the audience. Lying on the slab was the nude body of a thin elderly woman who looked to have been in her early sixties.

"This is a sixty three year old woman who died recently from accidental poisoning." Reaching under the corpse he raised the body slightly to show the darkened colour of the back and thighs. "Notice the marked darkening of the skin, known as lividity, in the lower parts of the body. Blood cells, without the action of the heart, will naturally sink to the lowest areas. Notice also that the shoulders and buttocks are not affected, as the capillaries of areas in contact with a hard surface are compressed."

Turning to a nearby tray of instruments, he picked up a scalpel. "Now we will begin with dissection of the abdominal cavity."

He made a large incision, from the base of the sternum to the crotch. Taking hold of the edges, he pulled the incision open to reveal the glistening viscera.

The dissection proceeded, the lecturer removing organs for examination and weighing, commenting on their general condition and discussing their function and structure. Lucy found it fascinating and the gristly aspect of the proceedings did not disturb her in the least. She had seen enough blood and entrails on the battlefield in Narnia not to be affected by this demonstration, which in contrast was clinical and emotionless. Of course in Narnia she had little time for a scientific examination of dismembered corpses; in the middle of a battle you are mainly concerned with avoiding ending up in that condition yourself.

The only thing that disturbed her a little was the casual way Goldberg handled the woman's body. After removing the liver and commenting that it showed significant signs of cirrhosis he casually tossed it onto the weighing scales. Lucy couldn't help feeling he should be more respectful; although this woman was now dead this had still once been a human being.

Fascinating as the dissection was, Lucy found it difficult to focus her full attention on it, as the reactions of her fellow students were equally interesting. A couple had already rushed to the bucket outside the door and promptly lost their breakfasts. One young man had fainted and was slumped down in his seat. Looking to her left, Lucy saw that Sumita was very pale and swallowing repeatedly, trying to hold on to her own breakfast, but she was valiantly trying to keep her composure. On her right, Mark had turned a rather sickly green colour and was coughing harshly but he also appeared to be coping.

Having finished with the abdomen, Professor Goldberg began to dissect the chest, using a bone saw to cut through the sternum and reveal the heart and lungs. This proved to be too much for Johnson, who bolted from his seat and headed for the door. Judging by the sounds he made, he was being violently sick. Although she knew it was rather unkind, Lucy couldn't restrain the small chuckle that escaped her; she felt it wasn't really proper to take pleasure in someone else's distress, but Johnson had been so unpleasant it was impossible not to. She shared a brief smile with Sumita and Mark, noticing that both of them looked a bit more composed.

The final part of the dissection was an examination of the brain. After separating the scalp, the lecturer use a rotary saw to cut open the skull and reveal the brain, still covered with its tough protective membrane. Lucy had to admit this did make her a trifle queasy; she had seen brains before of course, but they had been splattered across a battlefield from someone's head being bashed in by a giant's club. The sight of a whole brain, cerebrospinal fluid glistening on its convolutions, being removed from someone's skull, was rather different and a little disturbing.

Picking up a scalpel, he neatly cut the brain in half, separating the two hemispheres. Sumita made a gagging noise at this, and a quick glance from Lucy showed that her friend's face had turned a horrible grey colour but she was still just managing to remain in control of herself. She turned her attention back to the lecturer, who was pointing out the arched structure of the corpus callosum and the location of the pituitary gland, as well as the frond like arrangement of white matter within the cerebellum.

After this the lecture ended. Lucy found she had produced eight pages of notes, and glancing round decided she had probably done better than most. The majority of students had trouble just sitting through the dissection without fainting and had little inclination to try and get anything on paper.

Together with Mark and Sumita she climbed the steps to the entrance. Just outside the lecture theatre they met Mortimer Johnson, who was looking pale and ill and reeked of vomit.

"Feeling better, are you?" Lucy inquired sweetly.

He glared at her but said nothing.

"Never mind Johnson, at least you didn't faint," Mark observed sarcastically.

Sumita couldn't resist joining in.

"Perhaps it was something you ate," she suggested. "Surely a little thing like a dissection couldn't have upset a superior Englishman like you. Whatever happened to the famous stiff upper lip?"

"You shut your mouth, you filthy wog whore!" Johnson snarled at her.

Lucy and Mark both started shouting angrily but Sumita did not get upset as she had done that previous time in the lab. Eyes blazing with fury she stepped forward and viciously slapped Johnson across the face.

The force of the blow sent him staggering against the wall, almost knocking him off his feet. He stared at her in disbelief, rubbing his stinging face for a moment before reacting.

"You little bitch!" he screamed. He flung himself at Sumita, but Mark was too quick for him.

Seizing hold of Johnson, he twisted an arm behind him and pushed him back, pinning him against the wall.

"Let me go, Lewisham!" the blond boy yelled. "You saw what she did!"

"Yes, and I heard what you said!" Mark responded. "You bloody well deserved that slap Johnson, now back off!"

Johnson struggled to free himself but it was futile; Mark was too strong. After a moment he gave up and relaxed. Mark released him but was clearly poised to intervene again if necessary.

"We've had enough of you Johnson!" he said sternly. "Just clear off!"

Johnson glared at him resentfully but did not reply. He turned on his heel and strode off down the hospital corridor.

"Are you alright, Sumita?" Mark asked, turning back to the Indian girl.

She nodded and smiled at him. "I'm fine. Thanks Mark!"

"Oh it was nothing!" He shrugged modestly.

"I think you rather enjoyed that," Lucy said.

"Oh I did!" Mark admitted. "I've been itching for a chance to take that stuck up twit down a peg or two!"

"I think the dissection did that!" Sumita laughed.

Mark grinned. "True, although none of us were all that comfortable, apart from Lucy."

"That's right!" Sumita said. "It hardly seemed to bother you at all Lucy. It's as though you've seen it all before."

This put Lucy in rather a difficult position. Although she had not seen a human dissection before, she had seen equally grisly sights, but could hardly explain those circumstances to her friends.

"I suppose I must just have a strong stomach," she said uncomfortably.

"You're the best of us!" Mark said admiringly, making Lucy blush. "But I've got to be going now. I'll see you tomorrow girls."

He strode off down the corridor, turning round for a moment to wave at them. Lucy waved back then turning to Sumita found her friend smirking at her.

"What's so amusing?" she asked.

"I think Mark fancies you!"

"What?" Lucy stared at her incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" Sumita declared. "He's already started paying you compliments!"

There was a glint in Sumita's eye and Lucy suddenly realised she was getting her revenge for being teased about Peter.

"Oh I don't know," she said. "I think he might actually fancy you! I mean look how quickly he leapt to your defence!"

"He was just being a gentleman." Sumita said defensively.

"But surely that's every girl's fantasy," Lucy teased her. "A knight in shining armour, ready to protect her!"

She knew quite well she was being a bit hypocritical as it certainly wasn't her fantasy. If anyone had said she wanted such a thing she would have maintained – quite correctly of course- that she was more than capable of looking after herself. But teasing her friend was so much fun, Lucy was prepared to overlook that little detail.

"You're just twisting things around," Sumita said. "Mark obviously admires you and he's a really nice boy. You could do a lot worse, Lucy!"

"The last thing I need at the moment is a boyfriend," Lucy replied. A rather wicked idea suddenly came to her. Lucy knew she shouldn't but it was too tempting to resist. "Actually, what I need most at the moment is lunch."

Sumita grimaced. "I'm not sure I can face any food after that dissection!"

"Well we have to eat," Lucy said reasonably. "In fact there's a restaurant near here I've heard about that I wanted to go to. They have a special dish I wanted to try."

"What is it?" Sumita asked curiously.

Lucy grinned mischievously. "Calves brains in red wine!"

"Ugh!" Sumita's face twisted into an expression of revulsion. She raised her Anatomy textbook above her head threateningly. "Lucy!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Lucy said hurriedly, cowering in mock fear. "Don't kill me, please!"

"Oh you're just wicked, Lucy!" Sumita lowered the book, looking at her friend reproachfully.

"I do my best!" Lucy said innocently.

She caught Sumita's eye and a second later the two of them burst out laughing.

"Honestly though I really do want some lunch," Lucy said, after they had calmed down. "Something simple though, how about steak and kidney pudding?"

"Please, nothing with offal in it." Sumita looked distinctly queasy at the thought.

"Cauliflower cheese?" Lucy suggested, hoping something without meat would go down better.

"No! Not cauliflower!" Sumita protested. "The shape of cauliflower reminds me to much of… well of brains!"

"Oh dear!" Lucy said faintly, thinking she wasn't going to get any lunch at all at this rate. "Shepherd's Pie?" she suggested, without much hope.

To her surprise, Sumita seemed to consider this. "All right," she said at last. Noticing Lucy's surprise she explained, "well it might have got meat in it but there's no offal and no shape to remind me of anything!"

"Well thank goodness for that!" Lucy said in relief. "I was afraid for a bit we'd end up starving to death! Come on, it isn't far." She saw Sumita hesitate. "And don't worry, they don't actually serve brains!"

"I'm glad to hear it!" Sumita exclaimed. "Well, lead on McDuff!"

"It's lay on McDuff, actually," Lucy corrected her as they walked along the corridor. "Everyone gets that wrong."

"Pedant!" Sumita muttered under her breath.

But she was smiling affectionately at her best friend as she followed her out of the hospital and onto the streets of Cambridge.


	7. An Unwelcome Proposition

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 7 An Unwelcome Proposition

Lucy bit her lip to restrain herself from uttering a word that English society did not consider appropriate language for a young lady, and that was even more inappropriate for a Narnian Queen.

Her experiment had been going so well up to now. This was the second practical exercise in the Organic Chemistry course. In contrast to the first the preparation was actually quite simple; a single step synthesis of aspirin. Of course nothing is ever actually that simple and the twist was that after making the aspirin it's purity had to be assayed by titration with caustic soda.

This was where the problems had arisen. Her initial rough titration had been accomplished very quickly and she was halfway through the first accurate one when her burette had blocked.

Lucy tapped the nozzle of the burette, hoping to free whatever was blocked, with no success whatsoever.

"What's wrong?" Sumita asked, from the bench next to hers.

"My burette is blocked!" Lucy said in irritation.

Sumita came over to have a look, peering closely at the nozzle.

"I can't see anything," she said after a moment. "It looks like the blockage must be in the tap itself."

"That's what I thought," Lucy said. "I think I'll have to go to the technician and get a new one!"

She tipped the remaining solution out of the glass tube, into the sink. Leaving Sumita, she walked to the front of the laboratory to the counter where the lab technicians dispensed chemicals and apparatus to the students.

The technician was a short pallid-faced man with greasy hair, whom Lucy had already developed a hearty dislike for. The sole reason for that was that he obviously disliked her, but she was not alone in that. Unlike those who resented her because of her gender, this man appeared to loathe all students equally. Lucy has speculated that he found his own student days unsatisfactory, perhaps had greater ambitions than being a technician but had failed to make the most of his opportunities and now resented those who still had them. She and Sumita though had joked rather flippantly that his attitude was the result of constant exposure to chemicals causing some sort of obscure brain injury.

"What do you want?" he asked her crossly.

"My burette is blocked." Lucy held out the offending apparatus in explanation.

He snatched it from her, peering at it suspiciously.

"What have you done to it?" It was clear from his tone he couldn't conceive of any problem not being a student's fault.

"I haven't done anything," Lucy maintained with dignity. "It just blocked. I think there's too much grease in the tap."

He glared at her, plainly still convinced she must be responsible somehow, but made no further comment. Disappearing into the storeroom he returned a moment later with another burette.

"There!" he said, thrusting it into her hands. "Try not to break this one!"

"I'll do my best!" Lucy responded, trying to be polite. He just snorted and not wanting to get into an argument, Lucy thanked him and turned away.

She returned to her lab bench, expecting to find Sumita still working on her experiment, but to her surprise the Indian girl was not alone.

A young man was trying to talk to her. Lucy remembered his first name as John but couldn't recall his surname. As she watched Sumita lost patience with his attempts to engage her in conversation and rounded on him.

"Just what do you want?" she asked.

He looked uncomfortable, running fingers through his dark hair.

"Well," he said hesitantly. "There's an interesting film on at the Odeon this Saturday and I was wondering…"

His voice trailed off and he blushed furiously, looking acutely embarrassed.

"Yes?" Sumita asked looking impatient. "What about it?"

"Well I was wondering if you'd like to go with me," he concluded in a rush.

Sumita stared at him, completely taken aback by this unexpected suggestion. Lucy could see the astonishment on her friend's face, but she recognised another emotion as well; fear.

"I'm busy on Saturday," she said at last.

"Perhaps another time then?" he suggested hopefully.

"I don't think so," Sumita responded coldly. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to get on with my work."

The young man turned away, looking rather crushed.

"That was a bit harsh," Lucy commented.

Sumita looked surprised at her interjection. She had not realised Lucy was there.

"I don't' see why you couldn't have gone," Lucy said, "You're not doing anything on Saturday."

"I don't need a boyfriend," Sumita replied. "Didn't you say that yourself last week?"

"Going out with him once doesn't mean he's your boyfriend," Lucy told her. "Having another friend wouldn't be a bad thing."

"I have you and Mark," Sumita replied. "I don't need any other friends."

She turned back to her work and Lucy could tell by her expression she considered the matter closed. With a sigh she went back to her own bench to get on with her work.

Sumita's attitude to boys was rather odd. Although she had come to like and trust Mark and seemed to be comfortable with Lucy's brothers as well, she could be rather cool and distant with other young men, especially if there was any sign of romantic interest on their part. Yet when she talked and joked with Lucy about boys she was bold and forthright, sometimes even quite brazen. Lucy was starting to realise that bold attitude was actually a mask, a form of defence mechanism covering deeply held fears and insecurities. Given the horror of what had happened to her friend as a child, she supposed that was understandable.

Reminding herself she needed to get her experiment finished today, Lucy returned to her titration. The new burette functioned perfectly and within twenty minutes she had managed to get three closely agreeing titres. She wrote the values down on a piece of paper as her lab book had been handed in to the demonstrators for marking. Lucy promised herself she would write the results into her lab book as soon as possible; she wanted to be organised in her work and not the sort of student who kept things on a hundred different scraps of paper.

Looking towards Sumita, she saw her friend was already writing the experiment up.

"Have you finished already?" Lucy inquired

"Just about," she replied. "I'm doing the calculations now, but the results look promising!"

"Mine do as well, but my last experiment is being marked and I haven't got my lab book back yet."

"Oh I got mine back at the beginning of the afternoon," Sumita told her.

"How did you do?" Lucy asked.

"Pretty well, I got a B minus," Sumita said. "I'm just glad it wasn't that idiot Clovis who marked it!"

Lucy nodded in agreement. "I'm going now to see if mine's been marked yet and I'm hoping Clovis won't be around!"

"Good luck!" Sumita called out as Lucy made her way to the front of the lab. To her dismay it was Steven Clovis who was sitting behind the demonstrator's desk.

"Ah, the lovely Miss Pevensie," he said, grinning at her. "I've just finished marking your work."

Reluctantly, Lucy sat down in the chair beside him.

"I have to say your work is quite impressive," Clovis told her. He didn't say 'for a girl that is' but Lucy could sense that the qualification was intended. He held up a vial of yellow crystals. "Your picrate derivative had been well crystallised and the melting point is correct and accurately recorded."

Setting the vial down he opened her lab book. Lucy was relieved to see that most of what she had written was marked by red ticks, although a few sections had been underlined, with comments added.

"Generally your write up was quite good," Clovis told her. "There are a few issues however. In describing the procedure there are times when you adopt a rather personal style. I know this isn't really emphasised at school, but in scientific writing an impersonal style is preferred. For example, you wrote 'I added two grams of aluminium chloride' when it would be better to write 'two grams of aluminium chloride were added.' Do you see what I mean?" Lucy nodded.

"As for the questions asked in the instruction booklet, you do answer them well but a bit more theoretical detail would help," Clovis told her. "What you said about para isomers being favoured over meta in an activated aromatic ring is true, but you neglected to mention that the ortho product is not formed in this case because the molecule is too crowded. That's quite an important point."

Picking up a red fountain pen, he wrote a large 'B' at the bottom of the page. "Overall it's pretty good work. You do have practical skill, but you need to work on your writing style and think a bit more about the theory behind the experiments." Clovis seemed to hesitate a moment before he continued speaking. "I would be willing to help you with that Lucy, even outside the lab."

"Why would you give me special help?" Lucy asked, rather puzzled. A moment later she felt his hand on her knee, and realised with a sinking feeling exactly what he meant.

"Well, you're a very attractive girl, Lucy," Clovis whispered, leaning closer to her. His hand moved up from her knee to her thigh. "If you were nice to me, I would be nice to you!"

"Take your hand off my leg," she said firmly.

"Now don't be difficult, Lucy," Clovis said. His hand crept further up her leg, caressing her thigh in what he probably imagined was a seductive way, but the only emotion it evoked in Lucy was revulsion. "I'm sure we can come to an arrangement that will benefit us both!"

Lucy reached down and grasped his wrist to prevent him touching her even more intimately. "I said, take your hand off my leg!"

Her eyes met his, her gaze calm and authoritative. His smile slowly faded and his face paled. He looked away suddenly, wrenching his hand from her grasp.

"All right Pevensie, if that's the way you want to play it!" He laughed rather shakily. "You could have made things quite comfortable for yourself it you weren't such a frigid little prude!"

"Let me make something quite clear," Lucy retorted. "Even if I was the sort of girl to take a different man to my bed every night, I still wouldn't have anything to do with you, not even if you were the last man on earth!"

He stared at her in shock, his expression angry and vicious. Suddenly he opened her lab book again and picking up the pen rapidly turned the ticks into crosses, then scribbled out the 'B' and replaced it with an 'F'.

"What are you doing?" Lucy gasped.

"Correcting my previous mistake!" he replied. He looked at her triumphantly. "I was obviously too generous in marking your work!"

Lucy stared at him in horror. He looked back at her smugly, a gloating smile on his face.

"You won't get away with this!" Lucy whispered at last.

"Oh but I think I will," he replied. "Doctor Addler is the lecturer in charge of the demonstrators in this lab and he won't show you any sympathy. He hates female students. It's a shame in a way. You're rather a good student for a girl but you've brought it on yourself. I look forward to marking your future work, Pevensie!"

Standing up, he strode away from the desk and out of the lab, leaving Lucy sitting in her chair, her mind whirling with a confused mixture of shock, anger and dismay. All her warrior instincts were screaming at her to pursue Clovis and thrash him to within an inch of his life, but rationally she knew that would only make matters worse

Lucy slowly made her way back to her bench, trying to work out what to do in this situation.

"Lucy what is it? What's wrong?" Sumita asked. "You look as white as a sheet!"

Lucy shook her head, not knowing where to begin in explaining what had happened.

Just then Mark Lewisham joined the two girls.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the tension between them.

"Something's bothering Lucy," Sumita told him. "But she won't tell me what."

Hesitantly, Lucy explained what had happened to her two friends. Their reactions were predictable.

"That's outrageous!" Sumita exclaimed angrily.

"I'll kill him!" Mark growled, his face white with fury. He started to stride away, obviously intending to find Clovis, but Lucy grabbed his arm to restrain him.

"No Mark, that won't do any good!"

"Surely you're not going to let him get away with this?" Mark looked at her incredulously. "Lucy you can't. If you give in to this harassment it will never stop!"

"I know, and I don't intend to let it go," Lucy replied calmly. "But you beating him to a pulp won't help me, Mark. You'll just get yourself sent down, and Clovis will have a bigger grudge against me than ever!"

"Complain to the Head of Department," Sumita urged her. "You could even go to the University Provost if you have to!"

Lucy shook her head. "I should go to Addler first. He's in charge of the demonstrators and if I try to go over his head, he'll fight any punishment for Clovis tooth and nail!"

"I'm not sure you'll get any joy out of him," Mark said doubtfully. "Clovis was right about him hating female students. A lot of people call him 'The Snake' you know." Mark shrugged. "It's a rather weak pun on his name, but it does accurately portray his character."

"It's all a matter of how you approach it," Lucy replied. She smiled, surprising her friends with her sudden change of mood.

"I think this is an occasion for a little subtlety!"


	8. Snake Charming

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 8: Snake Charming

Taking out a powder compact, Lucy snapped it open and studied her reflection in the mirror, checking her make up for the fifth time that morning.

"_I'm getting as bad as Susan!" _She thought wryly.

Normally, Lucy would never take this much trouble over her appearance. But to accomplish her goal in seeing Addler it was essential she give the right impression.

Too much make up would be a mistake of course. It might give the impression she was a young woman of questionable character and a danger to the moral welfare of the male students, although Lucy thought rather cynically that in many cases that was trying to shut the stable door long after the horse had bolted. On the other hand too little or none at all might be equally disastrous. It would suggest she was unfeminine, a militant feminist perhaps, certainly a challenge to the University's patriarchal authority structures. She needed to strike the right balance and give an impression of demure femininity and her clothes reflected that aim as well. She was wearing a plain skirt, the longest in her wardrobe that fell well below the knee, along with a matching jacket that was conservatively cut and did little to show off her figure.

She closed the compact, replacing it in her handbag just as Addler's secretary came out of his office and invited her inside.

The office was a large room, dominated by shelves that were crammed with books and periodicals. In the centre of the room was a large desk, overflowing with papers. The overall impression she got was of untidiness and disorder; there were even a few papers on the floor that had not been picked up.

Doctor Addler was seated behind the desk in a comfortable looking chair. In terms of physical appearance e deserved his nickname, Lucy decided. He was not an especially tall man, she judged, and looked rather thin and wiry. She guessed him to be about fifty or so, with a rather heavily lined forehead and deep-set, rather beady eyes.

He gestured for her to take the chair facing his desk and when she had settled herself offered cigarettes.

"No thank you," Lucy declined politely. "I don't smoke, it's not an especially ladylike habit, is it?"

"Indeed not!" He agreed. Lucy saw a slight hint of approval in his expression, and noticed it increase as he took in her demure appearance.

She had replied with a question of course, providing him with the opportunity to agree, and it did not express her true opinion. Although Lucy did not smoke herself that was entirely a personal preference; she had no objections to the habit on moral grounds.

"Pardon my curiosity, Sir," Lucy said, "but are you the same Doctor Addler who published a paper in _Proceedings of the Chemical Society_ on the cyclisation reactions of conjugated poylenes?"

He looked surprised. "Yes" he replied, "a couple of years ago. You've read it?"

"Oh I came across it in the library," Lucy told him.

That was true enough, although she had been deliberately looking for his latest publications. She wanted to know as much as possible about this man before her interview with him. She knew Addler had not really published much, his last research paper was two years old. An explanation had suggested itself to her that the disorganised state of his office had confirmed. She had concluded that Addler was really a failed researcher who had gone into student administration to salvage his ego, but had already been saddled with responsibility beyond his natural competence and made up for that with officiousness. Years of experience in dealing with officials and courtiers enabled her to recognise the type on sight and she knew exactly how to deal with them

"I didn't understand all of it," Lucy admitted, "it was a bit too advanced, but it was really fascinating!"

He sat up in his chair, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. "Well that's very kind of you, but I presume that's not why you asked to see me?"

"No it isn't." Lucy took a deep breath before proceeding. "It's about the Organic practical course. My first experiment has just been marked and I feel I've not been given a fair grade."

"Not fair?" Doctor Addler repeated, scowling. "In what way not fair?"

"Well I got an 'F'" Lucy explained. "I have to say I don't really think it was that bad. It probably wasn't all that good but I do feel I deserved a 'D' perhaps even a 'C'."

"That's quite a jump from your actual mark," Addler commented. "Exactly why do you think the demonstrator marked you down?"

"Well he actually asked me out," Lucy explained. It was not the precise truth but it was close enough. "I turned him down because I really want to concentrate on my studies. Studying at degree level is so much harder than school, much harder than I expected and I can't afford any distractions, certainly not in my first year. But I think my refusal may have influenced his marking, at least unconsciously."

Addler suddenly stood up and began to pace about his office.

"This is exactly why the admission of female students concerned me," he exclaimed. "Things like this are bound to happen!"

"I understand what you mean," Lucy replied thoughtfully. "Although to be fair there are other things that can cause disputes between students. Still, it is a new complication Cambridge hasn't dealt with before."

"Exactly!" Addler returned to his chair and looked at Lucy rather quizzically, as though her could not quite make up his mind about her.

"Yes, I suppose it is quite a challenge for the University to cope with," she said.

"A challenge?" He looked at her sternly. "I assure you young lady, this University has dealt with numerous challenges to its traditions in the past. It survived them all and will survive this latest one as well!"

"I hope so," Lucy replied. "Of course it's very easy to make a scapegoat of anything new, assume it must be the cause of any problems and not deal with things on a case by case basis. Still, I would imagine you're too experienced to fall into a trap like that!"

"I should hope so indeed," the lecturer replied primly. "Well I suppose I had better look at your lab book."

Without saying another word, Lucy handed it over. Addler flicked through it, muttering indecipherably to himself as he studied her work. After about five minutes he looked up at her again.

"This is good work, Miss Pevensie," he exclaimed. "I would have given this a 'B' at least. It certainly deserves much better than an 'F'." He turned the pages again. "These comments are in Steven Clovis's handwriting."

"Yes, he's the demonstrator who marked it," Lucy confirmed.

"Well, I think perhaps I should have a few words with Clovis," Doctor Addler said grimly.

"I don't want to get him in any trouble," Lucy protested. "I can't imagine it could have been intentional."

Addler smiled at her. "Your compassion does you credit Miss Pevensie, but this sort of behaviour from our demonstrators really cannot be tolerated. Don't concern yourself further about this, I will deal with the matter."

He rose to his feet, prompting Lucy to do the same. He shook hands with her and politely escorted her out of his office. As she left the outer office Lucy heard Addler instructing his secretary to summon Clovis to see him immediately.

As she made her way back to the main lecture theatre to meet Sumita, Lucy was having a difficult time not laughing out loud. That had been easier than she had expected. No doubt Clovis had expected her to go storming to Addler or another official, complaining about harassment and giving a detailed account of the incident. But Lucy had known from the start that would be a mistake. Such a serious accusation would cause the male authorities to close ranks with Clovis against her. But by downplaying what has happened she prevented that and her apparent sympathy to Addler's prejudiced viewpoint had enabled her to circumvent his hostility to female students.

Sumita was waiting for her just outside the doors.

"Lucy, what happened?" she asked anxiously. "How did it go?"

"Everything is fine," Lucy assured her. "Doctor Addler had just sent for Clovis and I don't think he'll like the result very much!"

"What did you say to Addler," Sumita inquired curiously. "I was sure he wouldn't do anything."

"I told you, it's just a question of approaching it the right way," Lucy replied. " Right now we'd better get ready for the lecture."

Lucy quickly became engrossed in the organic chemistry lecture. As usual she was sitting in between Sumita and Mark but she concentrated on taking notes, steadfastly ignoring their whispered questions about what had happened with Addler.

As they left the lecture theatre afterwards, Lucy's friends resumed the questioning, but she remained evasive.

She was not entirely sure why, but somehow she felt it was too revealing about her. The way she had manipulated Addler suggested someone with great experience of negotiation and diplomacy, and Lucy did not want any inquiries about how she had acquired that. She had never even hinted at her experiences in Narnia to any of her friends, either here or at school, and as far as she knew none of the other Friends of Narnia had done so either, including Susan when she had still been one of them. Lucy still remembered the Professor's warning after they returned from that first visit and now at eighteen she appreciated much more just how wise that advice had been. Although Lucy was quite prepared to go against convention when it was a matter of principle she did no want to draw undue attention to herself and certainly had no wish to be considered mad. As much as she sometimes felt she did not really belong to this world at all, she still had to live in it.

"Aren't you going to tell us?" Sumita asked.

Lucy did not get a chance to reply because at that moment there was a commotion among the students in front of them, and then Steven Clovis pushed them aside to confront Lucy. He was glaring at her with venomous fury.

"How the hell did you win over Addler?" he shouted. "He's just dismissed me from being a demonstrator. He usually loathes female students but he was going on about what a sweet girl you are and how unprincipled I've been. Just what did you do to him?"

"It's called charm, Clovis!" Lucy replied, smiling sweetly. "Something you know little about."

"You little bitch!" Clovis growled. "Without the pay for being a demonstrator I don't know how I'll manage. I might even have to give up postgraduate study."

"Don't expect any sympathy from me," Lucy told him. "You've brought this on yourself."

He glared at her, looking as though he wanted to physically attack her. Lucy met his stare with equanimity and after a moment his expression changed from anger to discomfort. He turned away suddenly, striding toward the Main Doors without further words.

"Well that was interesting," Mark declared. "At least he didn't get away with it!"

"Come on, lets get some lunch," Lucy suggested to her two friends. "I'm starving!"

"Sorry, girls, I'm supposed to be meeting my tutor back at College," Mark told them. "I'll see you this afternoon in the lab."

"Alright then, we'll see you later," Sumita replied

Mark walked towards the entrance then suddenly turned back.

"Oh before I forget, there's a party being held at Saint John's on the evening of Saturday week," he told them. "I was wondering if you two would like to come."

"Well I'm not sure I…" Lucy began but Sumita interrupted her.

"We'd love to come," she declared.

"Wonderful!" Mark smiled at them. "Well, I'll see you this afternoon."

With that he strode away and disappeared through the entrance.

"Why did you accept?" Lucy asked turning to Sumita.

"Why not? It should be fun." Sumita declared. "Why were you reluctant?"

Lucy shrugged. "I'm not really much of a party goer."

"Nonsense, you'll enjoy it!" Sumita assured her. "We're not school girls anymore Lucy. We can go out in the evening on our own occasionally."

"I know that!" Lucy said. Then she sighed. "Oh well, I suppose it will be all right."

"Of course it will," Sumita declared. "Come on, lets see about that lunch."

As Lucy followed her friend out of the Department building she wondered herself about her unease. The sort of occasions Susan had dragged her to over the last couple of years had given her a rather jaded view of party going, but she didn't think Mark's party would be anything like that. Yet despite realising that, her sense of foreboding persisted, and she had no idea why.


	9. The Ambush

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 9: The Ambush

"Oh that was absolutely wonderful!" Sumita exclaimed.

Lucy smiled at Peter, amused by her friend's enthusiasm. All three of them were sitting in Peter's car, Lucy beside her brother and Sumita in the back. They were returning from a trip to King's where they had attended a Sung Eucharist at the college's famous Chapel and Sumita was still bubbling over with delight at the experience.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Peter said.

"Oh I did!" she enthused. "Those boy's voices were just exquisite!"

"They did sound lovely," Lucy agreed.

"It was the most incredible experience I've ever had," Sumita admitted. "Although I wonder if it's really proper, to be that excited about a communion service."

"Why not?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Well it seems a bit irreverent," Sumita said.

"That's nonsense!" Lucy asserted firmly. "You don't have to be always solemn and serious to be reverent."

Peter chuckled. "I seem to recall you getting into trouble over that, Lu. Remember your Confirmation?"

Lucy grimaced. "Yes, I certainly do!"

"What happened?" Sumita asked curiously.

"Well after I received communion for the first time, I was so happy I was smiling," Lucy explained.

"You weren't just smiling," Peter interrupted. "You were practically dancing down the aisle!"

Lucy ignored the interruption. "Anyway the Curate who prepared me for Confirmation got angry, saying I wasn't showing proper respect." She shook her head in exasperation. "I think that really shows the wrong attitude. I know Communion is a reminder of the death of the Lord and should be treated with reverence but it's more than just that. It's a foretaste of the heavenly banquet in the New Jerusalem, the wedding feast of the Lamb. Now most translations of the New Testament use words like feast or banquet, which suggests something very formal today. But the closest we have to what people in those days would have understood by it is actually a party. And you wouldn't always be solemn and serious at a party, would you?"

"I suppose not," Sumita replied thoughtfully.

Peter chuckled again. "My sister has rather unorthodox theological views."

"I thought you didn't like parties though," Sumita said.

Lucy shrugged. "It depends on the party. I'm feeling a bit jaded about parties at the moment because my sister dragged me to about a dozen over the summer and they were all dreadful!"

"We're here," Peter told them, pulling the car to a stop.

They were right next to the path that led to the main gate of Girton College. Lucy started to get out but was stopped by Peter.

"Could I have a few words with you in private, Lu?" he asked.

"Of course," Lucy replied. "You'd better go in Sumita, I'll join you in a minute."

No I'll wait for you by the path," Sumita replied as she opened the door and got out. She grinned mischievously. "I'll treat myself to a cigarette while Clan Pevensie confers in secret!"

Lucy and Peter both laughed at that as Sumita slammed the back door shut and walked a short distance away. Lucy turned to her brother enquiringly.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Have you heard anything from Susan?" Peter asked.

Sighing, Lucy shook her head. "I sent her a letter nearly two weeks ago but I haven't got any reply yet."

"I spoke to her on the telephone a few days ago," Peter revealed. He hesitated for a moment then said, "I was lucky to get hold of her and she wasn't happy to talk to me. As usual she had some party to go to that was much more important than keeping in touch with her family."

There was bitterness in his voice and Lucy reached out to squeeze her brother's arm in consolation. She understood exactly how Peter felt; Susan's self imposed isolation from her siblings was painful for all of them. Lucy was the only one she still seemed willing to associate with and she suspected that was because she was a girl and Susan wanted to justify her frivolous lifestyle by involving her sister in it.

"I haven't seen her for a month," Peter said. "Not since the start of term and then only briefly." He sighed again. "She looked utterly ghastly with all that stuff she plasters on her face. I'm just glad you're not like that!"

"I wear make up too," Lucy reminded him.

"Yes but not like her," Peter replied. "You're sensible about it."

"I hope so," Lucy replied. "I do find it difficult to understand her. I used to assume that she was just trying to grow up too quickly, that having been an adult in Narnia she was desperate to recapture that and was just overdoing it. But she's twenty-one now, so no one is going to think of her as a child. Yet she couldn't be more different from the Queen Susan we knew in Narnia."

Lucy recalled that in Narnia Susan had never really bothered much with cosmetics. She had been widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in the known world and that owed little to artificial aids. She wondered if the artificial glamour her sister cultivated was actually another denial of Narnia, as though she were rejecting the woman she had once been by trying to be as different from her as possible. Lucy wondered exactly what her sister saw in the mirror every morning; the thought chilled her and she shivered a little. Her brother noticed her reaction although he misunderstood the reason for it.

"I'm sorry," Peter apologised, "I shouldn't be keeping you here in the cold."

"Oh no, that's all right, I'm fine," Lucy assured him. "But I'd better not keep Sumita waiting any longer."

She leaned forward and hugged her brother. "Thanks for taking us and give my love to Ed,"

"I will," Peter promised as she opened the car door. "Take care of yourself, Lu!"

Lucy smiled at him and nodded as she slammed the door shut. She waved at Peter as he started the engine then walked towards Sumita who was waiting for her a few yards away.

"That didn't take long," Sumita observed, dropping her cigarette and grinding it out under the toe of her shoe. "What did he want to talk about?"

"Oh, just family stuff," Lucy replied vaguely as they walked along the path towards the gate under the central tower of the college.

"It really was kind of your brother to take us in his car," Sumita exclaimed.

"Oh he was happy to," Lucy assured her. She couldn't resist teasing her friend a little. "I'm sure Peter being with us made it much more enjoyable for you!"

Sumita rolled her eyes. "Not that much! I don't know why you keep imagining I have a thing for your brother!"

"Well it's about time he found himself a nice girl and settled down," Lucy said mischievously. "And you would be very suitable!"

"That's very flattering, but I'm not interested in him that way," Sumita declared.

"Oh I see!" Lucy pretended to be offended. "So my brother's not good enough for you then?"

"I didn't mean it that way!" Sumita stammered. "Lucy I swear I…"

Her voice trailed off as she noticed Lucy was almost doubled up with laughter.

"Oh you're terrible!" Sumita said ruefully. "Why do you tease me so much?"

"Because it's so easy!" Lucy replied, grinning.

They passed through the entrance to the gatehouse, as Sumita was about to reply. But the words never came. Instead she screamed piercingly. Lucy whirled round to see her friend struggling in the grip of her father. She moved forward to intervene but was suddenly seized from behind by strong arms that lifted her off her feet.

"Let me go!" Lucy shouted, struggling futilely against the grip that pinioned her. She could see Sumita's father had tossed her over his shoulder and was hurrying off.

"Stop struggling, girlie," a harsh voice hissed in her ear. "If you don't interfere you wont get hurt!"

But Lucy was not prepared to watch helplessly while her friend was carried off to a dreadful fate. She kicked out with both legs, her feet striking the wall. The reaction of the impact staggered her captor, forcing him to lower her slightly and Lucy then seized her opportunity. She brought her left leg down sharply, the narrow heel of her shoe ramming into the man's instep and through the shriek of pain heard the distinctive crunch of splintering bone. The arms that held her suddenly let go and spinning round to face her assailant, Lucy slammed her fist into the man's groin before he could recover. He promptly collapsed into a heap on the pavement, clutching himself and groaning in agony.

Lucy did not spare him a second glance. She ran after her friend and was relieved to see Sumita's father had not got far, mainly because his daughter was still struggling furiously. As she pounded after them, Lucy saw Sumita somehow twist herself round and sink her teeth viciously into the back of her father's neck.

He cried out in pain, letting go of Sumita who tumbled to the ground. As he leant over her, intent on seizing her again, he heard Lucy's footsteps and turned towards her.

His face paled as he recognised her. If he had been thinking of making a fight of it, one glimpse of the deadly light in Lucy's eyes changed his mind. He turned and fled, running across the grass toward the cover of the trees. Lucy was tempted to pursue him but concern for her friend overrode other considerations.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked her breathlessly.

Sumita nodded. "I think so, I just feel a bit shaken up."

Lucy offered her hand and heaved Sumita to her feet. Before she could say anything else they heard the sound of footsteps racing towards them. Turning towards the sound, Lucy recognised the newcomer immediately.

"Peter!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I was having trouble with the car engine," her brother replied. "Then I saw Sumita being carried off. Just what the hell is going on here?"

Lucy was wondering how to answer him when she could sight of the man who had attacked her limping out of the gatehouse.

"He was one of them!" she shouted, pointing.

"Wait here!" Peter commanded and sped after him in pursuit. Ignoring his instruction, Lucy and Sumita raced after him.

Peter was a swift runner and within a few second he caught the man and slammed him against the wall gripping him by the throat. A moment later Lucy and Sumita arrived as well.

"I thought I told you to wait?" Peter said angrily.

"Never mind all that," Lucy said impatiently. "I want to find out what's going on here."

"I would like to know that too!" Peter said grimly.

Turning to the man he had captured he gripped him harder. "Why did you attack my sister and her friend?" he growled.

"I …don't…know…anything," the man gasped.

"Peter, he might be able to answer better if you refrained from chocking him to death," Lucy suggested.

Peter glared at her but relaxed his grip on the man's throat. "Well?" he demanded again.

"I don't know anything, guv'nor." The man's accent and style of speech indicated that he had come from London originally. "This Indian gent said he wanted to get his daughter back home. Said he'd pay me ten quid to stop her friend interfering." He looked resentfully at Lucy. "I didn't know I'd have to take on a ruddy Amazon!"

"Let him go Peter," Lucy told her brother. "He doesn't know anything."

Peter stared at her. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am!" Lucy told him. She touched her brother's arm reassuringly. "I'll explain everything in a minute."

"All right." Peter released his captive reluctantly. "You'd better clear off now!"

"What about my foot?" he protested. "I think she broke it!"

"Then you escaped lightly," Peter told him sternly. "Now push off!"

With a last resentful glare at Lucy, he limped away. Peter watched until he was out of sight then turned back to his sister.

"Now I want some explanations," he said grimly.

"Not here," Lucy replied. "Come inside and I'll explain things in our common room."

This actually took some time to arrange. Lucy eventually found a member of staff who gave permission for her brother to be entertained in their common room, as the rules required. When they were all seated she explained the situation with Sumita's father, although she glossed over the exact nature of his abuse, knowing it was not something her friend would wish revealed.

Getting to his feet, Peter started to pace up and down the room.

"Why wasn't I told about this?" he demanded.

"I didn't see any need," Lucy replied.

"No need?" Peter echoed indignantly. "This man makes threats against you and you see no need to tell me?"

"I didn't interpret it as a threat," Lucy explained calmly. "He said 'this isn't over' but I assumed it was just bluster. I had no reason to think he'd try something like this."

"Well you were obviously wrong about that," Peter said. "Now we have to think of how to protect you two."

"Peter…" Lucy began, but her brother interrupted her.

"I know Lu," he said. "I know you're more than capable of defending yourself, and Sumita obviously isn't helpless either, but suppose there are more than two next time. How many can you fight off?"

"What do you suggest then?" Lucy asked. "And don't say you or Ed should act as bodyguards. We have to go into Cambridge every day Peter and you two can't afford to neglect your own studies to shepherd us everywhere!"

Peter sighed, running his dingers through his hair.

"Will you at least promise me you'll try to avoid being out alone?" he asked. "That you'll keep around other students as much as possible."

Lucy nodded. Although Peter's protectiveness sometimes annoyed her, she knew it came from genuine concern for her.

"All right, Peter," she agreed.

"I'm not too happy about this," Peter confessed. "I'll try to think of some way to make the two of you safer, but I suppose we'll have to leave it here for now." He turned to the Indian girl. "Sumita, would you object to Edmund making some enquiries about your father? He might discover something that would help."

Sumita nodded uncertainly. "I suppose that would be all right."

"Well I'd better be going," Peter said. He hugged his sister and kissed her cheek. "Please be careful, Lu!"

"I will, Peter." Lucy promised him.

After Peter had gone, Sumita turned to Lucy looking worried.

"So you think we should back out of the party on Saturday?"

"No I don't think so," Lucy replied. "Mark is taking us there remember so we won't be going alone. We can't live our lives in fear Sumita or we'd never venture out of the college!"

"I suppose you're right," Sumita replied.

Lucy had not forgotten the uneasiness she had felt about the party, but the afternoon's events had paradoxically made her determined to go. She refused to allow herself to be intimidated or let fear rule her life.

She did not realise then she would have cause to regret her boldness.


	10. Party Girls

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 10: Party Girls

Leaning forward towards the mirror, Lucy carefully applied a light coating of mascara to her eyelashes. She inspected her appearance critically then nodded in approval. Her make up was a little heavier than what she normally wore, but then a girl should not go to a party underdressed and the effect was still subtle.

"All done," she told Sumita, getting up from the chair in front of their dressing table. "It's all yours."

"Thanks!" Sumita sat down and started her own preparations.

Lucy wandered across the room and switched on the wireless. Sitting down in the nearby chair she flicked through a chemistry textbook as she waited for the radio to 'come on.'

As the thermionic valves warmed up the wireless crackled into life, relaying a broadcast of chamber music from the BBC's Third Programme. Lucy recognised the music as one of the Bach cello suites, although she couldn't identify which one, but haunting strains suited her current mood. She couldn't help a vague sense of unease, a feeling of impending disaster.

"That's a lovely dress," Sumita commented, as she started brushing her hair.

"Thank you," Lucy replied, still looking through her textbook. "I got it during the summer."

"Well I'm sure Mark will appreciate it," her friend suggested, grinning wickedly.

Lucy sighed. "You don't give up, do you?"

"Why should I?" Sumita replied. "You don't seem to be giving up suggesting I have something for Peter!"

Despite herself Lucy chuckled, tacitly acknowledging the truth of Sumita's words.

"But seriously Lucy I do really think Mark fancies you." Putting down the hairbrush, Sumita turned round to face her. "Don't you think he's attractive?"

"Of course I do!" Noticing her friend's surprise Lucy smiled. "I find a lot of young men attractive, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want a romantic relationship with any of them."

"Why not?"

Lucy stared at her, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Seriously Lucy, you surely don't intend to remain celibate for the rest of your life do you?" Sumita asked.

Lucy shrugged. "Probably not, but what about you? That young man, Paul I think his name is, he's obviously interested but you keep turning him down."

Sumita's expression darkened. "I don't need a boyfriend Lucy!"

"Do you intend to stay celibate for the rest of your life?" Lucy asked, turning Sumita's own words back on her.

"I don't know." The jocular manner she had adopted a moment before was quite gone now. "I'm not sure what I want Lucy. Having a family of my own is something I would really like someday, but what my father did to me was just so horrible, I don't think I could go through that again, not even for the sake of children of my own."

Lucy put down her book and switching off the wireless went over to her friend. She put her hand comfortingly on Sumita's shoulder.

"Sumita, what your father did to you was horrible and unnatural, but don't think that all sexual relations are awful and sordid. Despite the way we often abuse it, sexuality is still one of God's great gifts to mankind."

Sumita didn't look convinced. "Saint Augustine didn't think so! I think he said somewhere even married people couldn't mention sex without shame!"

Lucy shrugged. "Well Augustine wasn't entirely rational on that subject. He led a very dissolute life before becoming a Christian and his views are really an extreme reaction to that. You know they say there's no greater campaigner against drink than a reformed drunkard! His rejection of the flesh and ordinary human pleasures is so extreme it actually borders on Gnosticism!" Lucy shook her head. "Of course those views were not universal among the early church fathers, but unfortunately Augustine's extreme views about sex came to dominate the latter church and even now, centuries later, we're still suffering because of it."

"It sounds like Augustine isn't your favourite theologian," Sumita suggested.

"You could say that!" Lucy agreed. "And of course he's the one who started the doctrine of predestination, which doesn't do anything to endear him to me at all."

The girl's discussion was cut short by a sudden knock at the door.

"Come in!" Lucy called out.

The door opened and Alice Pearson stepped into the room.

"There's a visitor for you in the common room, Pevensie," she informed Lucy. "Peter was the name he gave, says he's your brother."

"Peter?" Lucy exclaimed. "What's he doing here?"

"No idea," Alice replied. "But I'm not sorry he came." She grinned at Lucy. "He's quite a dish your brother. I wouldn't mind a bit of that myself!"

Lucy glared at her. "My brother isn't a joint of meat for you to feast on, Pearson!"

Alice Pearson shrugged, not looking at all abashed. "No need to get offended. Anyway, if he's as priggish as you I doubt I'd have much luck!"

With that she left, closing the door behind her. Sighing, Lucy turned to Sumita.

"I'd better see what he wants," she told her. "I won't be long."

Sumita nodded, turning back to the mirror to start on her make up. Leaving the room, Lucy walked down the corridor to the student common room.

She vividly remembered the last time they had a visitor come unexpectedly, and for a moment Lucy wondered if this was another trick. But just a few seconds of reflection reassured her; there was no way Sumita's father could have posed as Peter and anyway Alice had already seen him.

Nevertheless she was relieved when she opened the common room door and found her brother there.

Peter smiled at her, his eyes widening as he noticed her party frock.

"You're looking nice," he observed, kissing Lucy's cheek. "What's the occasion?"

"We're going to a party at Saint John's," Lucy told him. "Mark Lewisham invited us,"

"Mark Lewisham." Peter repeated the name thoughtfully. "Yes I think I know him; nice chap!" He grinned at Lucy. "Is there something going on there I should know about?"

Lucy shook her head, a hint of amusement in her expression. "No Peter, nothing whatever is going on you should know about!"

"I see!" There was a mischievous glint in Peter's eyes. "So it's something you think I shouldn't know about then?"

"Peter!" Lucy's voice was sharp. "I'm sure you didn't come here to question me about my love life or lack of it!"

"No I didn't!" Peter's expression became serious. "I came to tell you that Edmund is investigating Sumita's father and there are some details about him he's uncovered that might be useful. In the meantime we think it's a good idea for you to have this!"

He took a short wooden stick from his pocket. For a moment Lucy thought it was a penknife but when Peter pressed the side a wicked looking blade sprang out of the end.

Lucy jumped slightly in surprise. "A flick-knife!"

"Yes," Peter said. He bent down and pressing the blade against the linoleum floor forced it back into position. "I want you to have some means to defend yourself. I suppose a gun would be better but you don't have a licence and possessing one could get you in trouble."

"And having a flick-knife won't?" Lucy asked.

"It's completely legal to have one without a licence," Peter reminded her. "And you've always been quite good with knives!"

Peter grinned, knowing his words were a massive understatement. Despite her feminine sex, his sister had been a very accomplished warrior in Narnia. She had been an excellent archer and a very formidable swordfighter, but with knives, any sort of knives, she was simply lethal.

Lucy reached out and took the flick-knife from her brother's hand. "Thank you," she said, "but I hope I won't need to use it!"

"So do I!" Peter agreed.

Lucy glanced at the clock on the wall. "Sumita and I have to leave for the party soon."

Peter nodded. "I need to leave too." Stepping forward he pulled his sister into an affectionate hug. "Take care Lu!"

"I will," Lucy whispered, hugging him back.

With an affectionate smile Peter turned away and left the room.

For more than a minute Lucy stood staring in the weapon in her hand. She was remembering all the battles she had fought in Narnia, sometimes prevailing against overwhelming odds. Her previous uncertainty had quite gone as she recalled her former triumphs. She had been a queen of Narnia after all and once a queen in Narnia always a queen. Lucy felt certain now that whatever awaited her she would be equal to the challenge.

Putting the knife in her pocket, she left the common room and headed back to rejoin Sumita. It was almost time to leave for the party.


	11. The Party

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 11: The Party

Mark's party was not actually at Saint John's College itself. The College did not allow parties in its buildings so a nearby church hall had been hired for the night. Not a particularly large building it had an arched, sloping roof that reminded Lucy of an aircraft hanger.

But it was not this that occupied Lucy's attention at the moment. Ever since Mark had arrived for them in his car at Girton, both she and Sumita had been desperately trying to suppress a fit of giggles.

What occasioned this uncharacteristic behaviour was the way Mark was dressed. He was wearing traditional Scottish regalia, including a kilt and sporran, along with a black velvet jacket and cravat.

Lucy was unable to restrain herself any longer. "I didn't know you're Scottish, Mark!"

The young man looked a bit embarrassed. "Strictly speaking I'm not," he confessed. "I was actually born in Manchester, although both my parents came from Scotland. They moved to Manchester a few months before I was born." He shrugged. "But we often returned to Scotland when I was a child and I suppose the Scottish way of celebrating is just engrained into me. That's why I gave this party a Scottish theme."

"You've certainly done that," Lucy agreed, looking around the hall.

The Highland theme included the refreshments, the buffet tables being covered with tartan cloth and offering a variety of Scottish dishes. A few other young men had also entered into the spirit of the occasion and were wearing kilts although with considerably less aplomb than Mark. One or two of the girls there were also wearing tartan dresses.

It quickly transpired that Lucy and Sumita were the only female students there, all the other girls being residents of Cambridge. As a result they found themselves the object of some curiosity and more than a little hostility as well.

Lucy was not especially surprised by this, although it still disappointed her. Although Cambridge had recently opened it's doors to women, educational opportunities for girls were still quite limited and even where they were available girls were often strongly discouraged from taking advantage of them. She remembered the struggles she had gone through to convince her school to enter her for a Cambridge Scholarship. In the end it was only the support of her father that had won them over.

But most girls were not so lucky and had been taught from an early age that marriage and motherhood was their exclusive destiny. Having in a sense directed all their energies into that it was understandable that any challenge to that viewpoint should evoke hostility.

The party got into full swing as Mark put some music on the nearby gramophone player and organised the dancing. Rather to Lucy's surprise it was neither traditional ballroom dancing like the waltz or more modern dance. Instead she found herself participating in traditional Scottish country-dance.

As she stood with the other girls, handclapping to the music as another pair danced up the line of opposing men and women, Lucy privately admitted to herself it was rather enjoyable. She had never really cared much for dancing in England, but this was more like the rustic dances she had known in Narnia.

Being at the end of the line, Lucy was the last to take a turn and found herself partnered by Mark. As they moved up the line she noticed Sumita smile and raise her eyebrows. Lucy shook her head. Sumita just didn't know when to give up.

The music changed to an even livelier tune, which Mark informed them often accompanied the Highland Fling.

"Why don't you demonstrate it?" Lucy suggested.

Mark looked surprised for a moment, then a mischievous smile lit his face. "All right," he agreed. "As long as you join me Lucy!"

"I don't think…" Lucy began, but Sumita overrode her attempted protests.

"Oh go on Lucy, give it a try," she urged her, and the other guests joined in.

Reluctantly Lucy faced Mark, and as he began to demonstrate the energetic steps did her best to copy them. Unfortunately, while Mark's kilt was admirably suited to the Highland Fling, the skirt of Lucy's dress was much longer and barely half a minute later caught on the heel of her shoe. Losing her balance, Lucy collapsed to the floor in an undignified heap amid roars of laughter from the onlookers.

Mark and Sumita hurried over to help her up.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Sumita inquired, although she was obviously struggling to contain her laughter.

"Only my pride!" Lucy muttered ruefully.

By tacit agreement that ended the dancing for the moment, and the quests began to drift towards the refreshments. Besides the usual sandwiches and other party food were a number of Scottish dishes. Lucy enjoyed the potato scones and meat pies, but decided to pass on the haggis, remembering exactly what went into that Highland delicacy. Sumita was about to try the haggis, until Lucy, in a discrete whisper, mentioned some of its principal ingredients, and then she turned away from the dish looking decidedly queasy.

"Enjoying the food?" Mark asked, joining the two girls.

"Yes," Lucy replied. "Although we've both decided to give the haggis a miss!"

Mark laughed. "I don't blame you! It's disgusting muck!"

"A rather surprising admission from a Scotsman!" Lucy teased him.

"Well I'm really English," Mark reminded her. "I'm proud of my Highland roots, but I don't go overboard on it, and I'm afraid haggis is one of the things where I draw the line!"

Lucy chuckled and took a sip of the cider she and Sumita had decided to sample. The choice of drinks had been a little limited; the only other ones on offer were beer and lemonade.

"Given the Scottish theme, I'm surprised you're not serving whisky," she told Mark.

"We weren't allowed to," Mark admitted. "It's a church hall remember, and they only agreed to us hiring it if we didn't have anything too alcoholic. Cider was the strongest thing we could get away with. They even objected to wine!"

Lucy was about to reply to that but was forestalled when a rather flamboyantly dressed young woman approached them and flung herself at Mark.

"Mark, darling!" she exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek. "It's wonderful to see you. Absolutely fabulous party, the Scottish theme is ever so clever!"

"Hello Gladys," Mark replied stiffly. He was looking rather uncomfortable. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'd like to introduce you to my friends and fellow students, Lucy Pevensie and Sumita Chatterjee. Lucy, Sumita this is Gladys Fosdyke, the niece of the Dean of Saint John's."

"Lovely to meet you!" Gladys shook Lucy's hand but pointedly ignored Sumita. "Mark's told me all about you and how clever you are. Honestly it must be fascinating to study something like pharmacology. It's such a nice thing to have a hobby!"

"I'd hardly call it a hobby!" Lucy responded coolly. She really tried her best not to judge people by first impressions but couldn't help feeling an instant dislike for Gladys. Her complete disregard for Sumita was the primary reason but the girl's appearance certainly didn't help. Her dress was far too revealing in Lucy's opinion and her face too heavily made up; she actually managed to make Susan look restrained in comparison. She felt rather annoyed too by the way the young woman was clinging onto Mark.

"But my dear, its' hardly something a girl would want to spend her life doing, is it?" Gladys replied. "I hope you're not one of those misguided feminists. Honestly, what's wrong with just being a woman?"

"There's nothing at all wrong with being a woman," Lucy admitted. "Being only a woman strikes me as rather limiting though. After all its' not something you can expect any promotion in, is it? Well, not unless you're a prostitute of course!"

Gladys stared at her open mouthed, clearly shocked by the remark. Mark was grinning and appeared to be struggling not to laugh out loud while Lucy wad sure she caught a barely suppressed giggle from Sumita.

"Well, it was lovely to meet you," Gladys stammered. "I… well there's some people I just have to say hello to. Excuse me!"

She turned and hurried away, unfortunately knocking into Sumita and spilling the glass of cider she was holding all over her.

"You clumsy idiot!" Sumita yelled after the retreating girl, but Gladys just ignored her.

"Sumita, are you all right?" Lucy asked hurrying over to her.

"I'll live," the Indian girl replied, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the spilled beverage from her face. "I think I'd better go and freshen up though. Mark, where's the Ladies?"

""Down the passage, second on the right," Mark answered, pointing to the door they had come in through. "Sumita, I'm really sorry about this."

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault." Sumita gave her two friends a brief smile before hurrying off.

"I'm sorry about that," Mark said, turning to Lucy. "Gladys has attached herself to the students at Saint John's, although not many can stand her."

"Including you I take it?" Mark nodded at Lucy's question, grimacing slightly. "She seems to hold very old fashioned views about women working," Lucy commented

"Well, it's the way she's been brought up," Mark replied. "Girls of her background have been taught to believe in traditional roles, that work outside the home is something only men are supposed to do. But actually the idea of women being exclusively homemakers is far from universal. Most women throughout history have worked in some way or other."

"I suppose that's right," Lucy agreed. "Although it's only recently that more than a handful of women have actually had careers."

"That's true," Mark admitted. "But few men actually have careers in the sense of doing work that they're really committed to and enjoy. Most people work just to pay the bills, but a few actually have jobs that they want to do, that they find personally fulfilling, so why shouldn't women have that opportunity?"

"Lucy smiled at her friend. "Not many men see it that way!"

"I suppose I have a different perspective than most," Mark said. "If my mother hadn't got a part time job when I was a child things would have been very difficult with the amount of housekeeping my father gave her."

Lucy frowned, a little disconcerted by this. It sounded as though Marks childhood had been far from ideal, and she wondered how his father had treated him. He obviously noted her concern because he was quick to reassure her.

"Oh please don't get the wrong idea " he exclaimed. "My father was actually a very kind man, he would never have mistreated me or mother. It's just that like many Scots of his generation he considered shopping to be undignified for a man. I don't suppose he'd been in a grocery shop since he was a small child, so he didn't really understand my mother's problems in making ends meet. He thought what he gave her was adequate." Mark shrugged. "Perhaps it would have been ten years before. That's why mother got a part time job cleaning at a doctor's surgery." He smiled sadly. "My father didn't approve but he didn't try to stop her. I believe he thought it was just pin money, for dresses and other luxuries. I don't think he ever realised it was her efforts that were putting most of the food on the table."

"Isn't your father still alive?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

"He died when I was fourteen," Mark told her. "Bowel cancer."

"Oh Mark!" Lucy reached out and squeezed her friend's arm consolingly. "I'm so sorry!"

"It seems so long ago now." Marks smile was a little twisted. "It's only been four years but it feels like a lifetime!"

Lucy did not reply, feeling rather uncertain about how to respond to this. She was a very kind hearted person, but that very thing sometimes made it difficult for her to deal these situations, especially now she was older. She was always too worried about upsetting or offending people and freely admitted that Susan was better than her at dealing with others grief.

"Sumita's been gone a long time," she commented, deciding it would be better to move the conversation to less painful topics.

"Probably fixing her face," Mark suggested, looking relieved at the change of subject. "I know what you girls are like about your appearance."

"You men can be just as vain," Lucy asserted, her smile making it clear she was amused rather than annoyed by Mark's comment. "Maybe I'd better go and help her."

"Good idea!" Mark agreed, and with a smile at him Lucy headed for the Ladies.

"Sumita," Lucy called out, entering the ladies washroom. "Are you all right?"

There was no reply. The washroom was quite luxurious, all white enamelled tiles with five sinks and mirrors on the right and the same number of toilet cubicles on the left. It was quite deserted though, and a quick look showed the cubicles were all unoccupied.

Lucy was surprised Sumita was not there, but thought her friend had probably gone outside for some fresh air. She was about to go and look when she noticed a lipstick under one of the sinks.

Bending down to pick it up, Lucy realised it was exactly the shade and brand Sumita used. Seriously alarmed she hurried back into the hall to find Mark.

"Mark, I can't find Sumita!" she told him. "She wasn't in the Ladies."

Mark seemed surprised by how worried she looked. "Well maybe she's gone outside for some fresh air."

"That's what I thought, but look!" Lucy held out the lipstick. "I found this on the washroom floor."

"Are you sure that's Sumita's?" he asked. There must be hundreds of lipsticks like that."

Lucy shook her head. "It's Sumita's brand and shade," she told him, "and it's part of a range of cosmetics she used designed for people with dark skins. I'm sure there isn't another lipstick like this in the whole of Cambridge." Lucy hesitated. In the back of her mind was the spectre of Sumita's father and the dread that somehow he'd managed to get hold of her. "She wouldn't have just left it there."

Now Mark was looking concerned as well. "Probably not," he agreed. "But before we start panicking we'd better check she's not in the building or outside. Let's get some of the other Saint John's students to help us search."

Fifteen minutes later, it was clear Sumita was not in the hall or in the surrounding area.

"There's only one thing we can do now," Mark said grimly.

"What?" Lucy asked, by now frantic with worry.

"I'm calling the police!"


	12. Dreams and Memories

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 12: Dreams and Memories

"_Corvan!" Lucy moaned her lover's name softly as she felt his hands caress her back, working their way slowly downward. She groaned as he kissed her neck, nibbling at the exposed flesh, and tugged at his tunic, desperate to feel his bare skin against hers. _

Lucy sat up in her bed with a start, looking around her in confusion as her heart pounded wildly. The dream had been so real! Automatically, she looked over to Sumita's bed, expecting to see her friend, but of course it was unoccupied.

She groaned as the events of the party the night before rushed back to her. The police had arrived after an hour of waiting but of course there was little they could do apart from take statements from everyone there. She had been told that someone would be coming to question her further today, although she was sure there had been a distinct cooling of interest when it emerged that Sumita was Indian.

Lucy sighed, contemplating getting through the day without Sumita at her side. She squirmed in discomfort, suddenly realising that the slight damp patch she was sitting in had nothing to do with sweat. She was still very aroused from the dream, her loins aching with unsatisfied desire.

Unthinkingly, Lucy slipped a hand under the hem of her nightdress and ran it up her thigh, intent on relieving her tension. Realising what she was doing she desisted with an angry little shake of her head, annoyed with herself for even contemplating such indulgence when her best friend was missing and quite possibly in terrible danger.

Reluctantly she got out of bed, wincing as the barely perceptible throb around her temples that she had awakened with intensified into acute pain. It was the unmistakable sign of an oncoming tension headache, scarcely surprising after the anxiety of the previous night. The sleeping draught she had been forced to take, after hours of lying awake and worrying about Sumita had probably contributed as well.

Sitting down at the dressing table, Lucy examined her appearance in the mirror and grimaced at the sight. Her hair was a tangled mess and she looked tired and drained, her face pale with dark shadows under her eyes.

Picking up a comb she began pulling the tangles out of her hair. The tugging only exacerbated her headache but Lucy stoically endured the pain, deciding she would take some aspirin later.

Glancing at the clock, she realised it would be time for breakfast in the Dining Hall in half an hour. Lucy knew it would be best to try and eat something although she had little appetite; in fact she felt sick with anxiety. She was certain Sumita's father was responsible for her disappearance, and at the back of her mind was the horrifying knowledge of what he had done to her as a child, and the terrifying thought of what he might do to her now. Lucy shuddered, not even allowing herself to think about that. What preyed on her mind most of all was her sense of guilt. Right from the beginning she had felt uneasy about going to Mark's party but had ignored her instincts and this was the result. She had been so sure of herself, so confident in her ability to protect her friend and yet she had failed. Lucy studied her reflection in the mirror again, hating what she saw.

"_I look pathetic," _she thought miserably. _"I feel pathetic. Just look at me, the great warrior queen whose deeds the minstrels sang of from Telmar to the Lone Islands, and I can't even stop my best friend being kidnapped!"_

She couldn't remember feeling more wretched and useless since that dreadful day in Narnia when she learned of Corvan's death. Despite herself, Lucy couldn't help thinking of her dream about him. She realised that it was not imagination but a recollection of that final night she had shared with Corvan, before he departed for Terebinthia. Unable to stop herself, Lucy recalled what had happened later.

_The lamps in Corvan's chamber were dim when Lucy awoke. She guessed that several hours had elapsed since they fell into an exhausted sleep. Corvan had turned over in his sleep, his naked back facing her. Cautiously, Lucy slid out of the bed and began to gather up her clothes that were scattered over the floor._

_As she dressed quietly to avoid waking him, Lucy gazed down on the sleeping form of her lover. The sight of him resting so peacefully touched her heart, making her realise just how much she loved this man, although a part of her was still feeling guilty about what she was doing. _

_Lucy couldn't help wondering how people would react if they knew of her relationship with him. She suspected Edmund might be sympathetic but was sure Peter and Susan, along with most of her subjects would be horrified. She supposed even now some might regard her involvement with Corvan as traitorous, after all when he first arrived at Cair Paravel, Narnia and Terebinthia had been on the brink of war._

_Looking out of the window she saw the sky was noticeably lighter and knew dawn could not be far away. She needed to leave now before the castle began to stir. But as she went towards the door Lucy was interrupted._

"_Lucy?" She turned to see Corvan sitting up, looking at her. _

"_I have to go," she whispered. "It's nearly dawn."_

_Without replying he pulled the bedcovers aside and got up, walking towards her. He did not bother to dress, and despite the intimacy they had shared Lucy felt herself blushing. Corvan took her hands, squeezing them gently._

"_I leave this afternoon," he reminded her._

_Lucy nodded. "I know."_

"_Do your regret this?" he asked anxiously._

"_No, of course not!" _

_Her voice was almost fierce as she made that denial, but it did not sound convincing, even to her own ears. Corvan released her hands and reaching up stroked her cheek. Lucy looked up at him and her heart almost broke when she saw the guilt in his eyes._

"_It was never my intention to dishonour you," he murmured._

"_Don't say that!" Seizing his hand she pressed it to her lips. "I don't feel dishonoured. Do you feel dishonoured because you have lain with me?"_

"_No," he admitted. "But that is…"_

"_Different?" There was both mockery and bitterness in the word she spoke. "You mean a man's honour comes from what he does on the battlefield and s woman's from what she does in the bedroom?" Lucy went back to Corvan's bed and sat down on it with a sigh. "I have no patience with that scheme of things!"_

_Corvan sat down beside her and put his arm round her. Lucy leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder._

"_I'm sorry," he told her._

_Neither spoke for at least a minute, preoccupied with their private thoughts. It was Lucy who broke the silence first._

"_I will not deny I still feel guilty for having lain with you. I am torn in two for my upbringing, all I have been taught tells me this is wrong, that we should wait until we are wed. Yet my heart and my body say otherwise and demand no limitations be placed on our love. But it is the deception we must practise that shames me most. Do you know what I would most wish to do on your return?"_

_He kissed her forehead softly. "Tell me, sweetheart."_

"_I would move your belongings to my chambers and tell all the court that we are to be married, but that even before then you shall share my bed." Then she laughed ruefully. "But I have not the courage for that!"_

_He laughed as well. "If you did your brothers would surely slay me and there would be war between Narnia and Terebinthia despite all our efforts."_

"_Aye," she agreed softly. "And my sister would despise me also." She saw his curious look and explained, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "She would regard you as beneath me. To sacrifice my virginity to a mere ambassador would be offensive to her. Such favour in her eyes should be reserved for a prince at least!"_

"_You do her wrong, surely?"_

"_Perhaps," Lucy admitted. "I love her dearly but my sister's mind is strange to me. All her interest is consumed by fripperies, things that of themselves are harmless or even amusing, but should not be the sole preoccupation of life. At times I fear where this may lead her."_

"_You do not resemble her," Corvan observed._

_Lucy laughed at that. "Well she is the lady and I the tomboy!"_

"_Tomboy?" Corvan repeated the unfamiliar word uncertainly. _

_Lucy hesitated, trying to recall the ways of the world she had come from. There were times now that other life seemed as distant as a half remembered dream._

"_It means a girl who acts like a boy," she told him. "Or at least the way a boy is supposed to act."_

"_Well I do not think you act as a boy," Corvan assured her. "There are times you behave more as a man is expected to, but you are still a lady for all that."_

_Lucy's smile was a trifle sardonic. "Just because I fight in battle at times does not mean I am unfeminine."_

_Corvan turned to face her, pulling Lucy into his arms. "You were most certainly not unfeminine a few hours ago," he reminded her and Lucy blushed at the memory. "Perhaps you might wish to demonstrate that again," he suggested._

"_Sadly we have no time," Lucy informed him sternly then laughed at his disappointed expression. "Really, do men think of naught else?"_

"_Not often," he admitted wryly, and she laughed again but her expression soon became serious._

"_Promise me you will return soon," she whispered. _

"_I promise," Corvan said, kissing her softly. "As soon as the treaty is ratified I will take ship back to Narnia."_

"_And then we will announce our engagement," Lucy declared firmly. "I expect Peter will be more amenable when there is a stable peace with Terebinthia."_

"_And if he is not?"_

_Lucy shrugged. "It matters not. I am Queen in my own right and will do as I please."_

_Corvan chuckled. "When you have that look of resolve in your eyes there are few who would dare gainsay you, my lady."_

_Lucy merely smiled. She hugged Corvan tightly, telling herself that all would be well, that he would soon return to her._

Tears were streaming down Lucy cheeks as she remembered that night. Corvan had never returned, and two weeks later news had come of the shipwreck in which he lost his life. At least the King of Terebinthia had honoured the treaty he had made and there had been peace between the two countries. That had been of some comfort to Lucy for she knew it was the memorial Corvan would have wanted.

She wondered why she was dwelling on these memories now, when she ought to be concentrating on Sumita's disappearance. Perhaps it was because Sumita was the only person she had ever confided in about Corvan. Close as she was to her brothers and parents, this was not something she could really discuss with them and she and Susan were now almost completely estranged.

Lucy realised just how close she and Sumita had become. She might not have told the Indian girl about Narnia but they had both disclosed other things to each other, intimate details they had confided to no one else. She now had a stronger bond with Sumita than she ever had with Susan or even Aravis.

Defiantly she wiped away her tears and promised herself she would find and rescue her friend, no matter what it might cost.

"I swear in the Lion's name," she whispered "that I will find and deliver you my friend, and avenge whatever hurt has been done to you."

And having made that oath Lucy stood up and started to dress, prepared to face whatever the day might bring.


	13. Policeman Plod

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 13: Policeman Plod

"Where's your darkie friend got to then, Pevensie?"

Lucy tried her hardest to ignore Alice Pearson's taunting remark as she scooped up another forkful of scrambled eggs. Sumita's absence at breakfast had already occasioned several questions, none of which Lucy was at all keen to answer. She had waved the queries aside with vague replies but Peason was sitting across from her and was being persistent.

"Gone back to the jungle, has she?"

Lucy gritted her teeth. Pearson seemed determined to rile her, and to her dismay she was succeeding. Lucy felt a simmering anger build within her that she struggled to keep in check. But Pearson's next comment was to prove her undoing.

"Maybe the two of you have had a lover's tiff. I didn't realise you were inclined that way, Pevensie."

Alice Pearson reached for the salt and Lucy lunged forwards and seized her wrist, slamming her arm down on the table.

"What are you doing?" Alice struggled vainly to free her wrist from Lucy's grasp. "Let go of me!"

"Apologise!" Lucy commanded sternly. "That remark was uncalled for; now apologise!"

"All right I'm sorry!" Lucy released her and Pearson stood and picked up her Ration Book. She rubbed her wrist, looking at Lucy resentfully. "You should watch that temper, Pevensie. It'll get you in serious trouble one day."

She strode away and Lucy groaned, holding her head in her hands. She kept telling herself to remain calm in such situations but that was easier said than done. Lucy hated prejudice and intolerance and couldn't help wanting to oppose them. In Narnia it had been so easy; she was Queen there and her word was law. If anyone had dared mock Aravis because of her Calormene background in Lucy's hearing they would have found themselves in serious trouble. But here in England she was just another teenage girl with no real power or authority.

Not for the first time, Lucy found herself marvelling at her brother Peter's self control. It must have been far worse for him, suddenly becoming a schoolboy again after being High King, yet she had never seen him lose his temper once, even under the most extreme provocation. No matter what the circumstances, he had accepted the change in his status with a grace and humility that she deeply admired but found difficult to emulate.

Lucy rose from her seat and was wondering what to do next when one of the college Fellows approached her.

"Miss Pevensie?"

Lucy turned towards her. "Yes?"

"You're wanted in the Dean's office," the woman told her. "If you would follow me, please?"

Wordlessly, Lucy trailed behind her, wondering why she had been summoned to the Dean's office. She had never actually met the Dean, not even during her admission interviews. It was just as they reached their destination that it dawned on her this must be about Sumita.

The college Fellow ushered her inside then left and Lucy realised at once that her supposition had been right. Seated in a chair was a middle-aged man in the uniform of a police inspector.

Professor Kathleen Bellman, Dean of Girton College was a still handsome woman in her late fifties who appeared younger than her actual age. Her immaculately styled hair showed only a few hints of grey and her face was relatively unlined. Dressed in a light grey woman's business suit, she was an imposing presence.

"Please take a seat Miss Pevensie." The Dean gestured towards the empty chair in front of her desk. Walking forward hesitantly Lucy seated herself. "This is Inspector Strickland from the Cambridge City Police. He's here about Miss Chatterjee's disappearance." She looked at Lucy rather accusingly. "I must say Miss Pevensie, I'm a little surprised that I was not informed of this before now."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Lucy replied, feeling a little uncomfortable. "I suppose I really should have notified the College, but I was so upset last night I just didn't think of it."

The Dean nodded thoughtfully. "That's understandable. Well the Inspector is her to ask you some questions about the events of last night."

Lucy turned towards Strickland who took out a notebook and pencil. "Actually the officers last night already covered that pretty thoroughly. What I really need to ask you about Miss Pevensie is your friend's background. For instance do you have any idea who might want to kidnap her?"

"I do as a matter of fact," Lucy told him. "Her father."

"Her father?" The man looked surprised. "Why should Miss Chatterjee's father abduct her?"

Lucy took a deep breath before replying. This was an issue that required delicate handling.

"He holds rather old fashioned views about women. He doesn't approve of her being in England or studying at University."

"I see." The Inspector looked at her thoughtfully. "How old is Miss Chatterjee?"

"Eighteen." Lucy had a strong suspicion about what was coming next, which Strickland promptly confirmed.

"Since your friend is not of age, she is still her father's responsibility and it is his right to withdraw her from the College. If he is responsible for her disappearance I'm not certain it really is a police matter, Miss Pevensie."

Lucy was about to hotly dispute this, but to her astonishment the Dean suddenly came to her support.

"Sumita's father is not her legal guardian, Inspector. Her uncle became her guardian when he and her mother moved to South Africa when she was eight."

"Do you have documentary evidence of this?" The inspector queried.

"Of course," Professor Bellman told him. "I will arrange to have Photostat copies sent to you."

"Thank you." He turned back to Lucy. "Could you give me a description of Miss Chatterjees's father?"

Lucy did her best at that then asked. "What are you going to do to find Sumita?"

"We will circulate a description of Miss Chatterjee and her father to all ports and airports," he responded. "If he is trying to leave the country with her, we may be able to apprehend him then. Aside from that there are some other possible lines of enquiry. How many people knew Miss Chatterjee would attend the party last night?"

"Mark Lewisham and I knew of course," Lucy replied. "Apart from us I'm not sure. I suppose Mark might have mentioned it to a few of the other guests."

"Then the question we must consider is how he knew she would be at the hall where the party was held."

Lucy shrugged. "I would imagine he was lurking outside the College and followed us."

"You travelled there in Mister Lewisham's car I believe?" Lucy nodded. "Then we must assume he had access to a car if he followed you. There can't be many Indians in Cambridge, so if he bought or rented one here we may be able to trace him through that."

Strickland rose to his feet. "Well thank you very much Miss Pevensie, and you Professor. I will be in contact if we require any further information." He shook hand with both of them.

"I hope you find her soon, inspector," Lucy said as she shook hands with him.

"We will do our best Miss." He gave her a faint, barely perceptible smile. "You must realise however that we do have other ongoing investigations, so don't expect any quick resolution of this." He nodded to the Dean. "Thank you again for your cooperation Professor. Good day to you both."

After Strickland left the office Lucy wondered if she ought to go as well, but to her surprise the Dean asked her to sit down again.

"So you think the Inspector is likely to find Sumita, Lucy?" the Dean asked. "I hope you don't mind if I use your Christian name?"

"No of course not," Lucy responded. "He doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me, I have to say."

"I fear that one missing Indian student will not be given a very high priority by the Cambridge Police." The Dean sighed, leaning forward and folding her hands together. "Unfortunately there is a great deal of prejudice against coloured people, even here at the University. We have had several non-European students here at Girton in the past and they have found it difficult to cope but nothing like this has happened before."

"I'm really worried that the police won't find her in time," Lucy admitted. "I feel I ought to do something myself to find her."

"While I understand your desire to help your friend Lucy, I doubt that you alone could do anything the police could not."

"It wouldn't just be me," Lucy relied. "I'm sure my brothers would help as well."

"Your brothers are also students at Cambridge, I understand?"

Lucy nodded. "Peter is studying for a Doctorate in Medieval History at King's and Edmund is reading Law at Jesus College."

"I see." The Dean looked at her thoughtfully for a while. "Officially I cannot condone you becoming involved in this." She raised a hand for silence as Lucy started to protest. "Officially I must advise you to concentrate on your studies and leave this to the police. Unofficially however," she paused for a second then smiled. "Just be careful Lucy."

For a moment Lucy did not reply, feeling more than a little surprised by this turn of events. Then she smiled and nodded, relieved that she had at least the tacit support of the Dean.

"I'd better go then," she said, rising from her chair. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"That's the least I could do," the Dean replied, as Lucy head for the door. "And Lucy?"

"Yes?" she turned back towards her.

"Keep me informed about any developments."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "I will," she promised, then opened the door and left quietly.

She headed down the corridor, making for the Porter's Lodge so she could use the telephone there. She needed to contact Peter and Edmund immediately.


	14. Edmund to the Rescue

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 14: Edmund to the Rescue

Frowning in concentration, Lucy held a pair of forceps in the flame of her Bunsen burner for a few seconds, and then rapidly waved them through the air to cool. Quickly raising the lid of her Petri dish, Lucy placed the four antibiotic discs they had been provided with onto the microbe seeded agar jelly. She paused for a second to wipe her brow, then carefully taped up the four corners of the Petri dish and wrote her name on the lid with china clay pencil.

It was Monday afternoon and Lucy was in the Biology Laboratory, carrying out the next experiment in the practical course; determining the antibiotic sensitivities of a microorganism. Normally this would have greatly excited Lucy, as the development of antibiotics was one of the things that encouraged her to study pharmacology and this experiment even involved the recently discovered agents of chloromycetin and aureomycin. But without Sumita by her side she was finding it difficult to muster any enthusiasm.

"How's it going?"

Lucy whirled round, startled by the voice behind her and found Mark Lewisham watching her.

"Oh Mark! You startled me!"

"Sorry!" he smiled apologetically. "Pretty straightforward experiment really."

Lucy nodded. "Yes, I've just finished."

"Me too!" Mark hesitated before speaking again. "Lucy, is there any news about Sumita?"

Lucy sighed. "Nothing good I'm afraid." She turned off her Bunsen burner and started to clean up the bench. "A policeman interviewed me yesterday at Girton, but he didn't inspire much confidence in me. I really doubt the police will be much help in finding her."

Mark looked worried. "Why do you think that?"

"He didn't strike me as being that concerned," Lucy replied. "I don't think the police see one missing Indian girl as a high priority."

"I suppose we should have expected that." Mark was trying to remain composed but he looked angry nonetheless. "You don't intend to just leave it with them?"

"Of course not!" Lucy finished clearing her bench and picking up the Petri dish headed to the incubator, Mark following her. "I'm meeting my brothers in half an hour at King's to discuss what to do. Why don't you come Mark?"

"Sorry but I can't!" Mark apologised as Lucy put her preparation into the incubating oven. "I've a tutorial session at Saint John's then and I can't get out of it. But you'll let me know anything you decide won't you?"

"Of course I will!" Lucy smiled at him as she rinsed her hands and dried them with a paper towel. "Well I suppose we'd better go if I'm heading to King's and you to St. Johns."

"Yes, I suppose so." Mark was staring at the lab floor, looking rather pensive.

"Is there something wrong, Mark?" Lucy asked anxiously. It was unlike him to seem so indecisive.

"No, nothing is wrong." He whispered the words so softly she had trouble hearing. Then, to Lucy's total astonishment, he leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek. "Take care of yourself, Lucy!"

He strode away, leaving her staring after him looking utterly flabbergasted, her hand pressed to the cheek he had kissed and her heart racing wildly.

_"It was just a friendly kiss, that's all"_ Lucy told herself. _"And I'm just feeling surprised because he's never done that before. It's nothing more than that!"_

Taking a deep breath, Lucy tried to compose herself as she headed towards the lab doors. She sternly reminded herself she needed to concentrate on finding Sumita; now was not the time to be thinking about romance. Although of course, she assured herself, she was not actually interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with Mark. No, not in the slightest!

Unfortunately, Lucy's mood was not helped by the person she met just outside the lab doors. Mortimer Johnson was standing there, as impeccably dressed as ever and looking twice as arrogant as usual.

"Well, well, if it isn't Lucy Pevensie, overall do-gooder and supporter of underdogs and lost causes!" His lips twisted into a mocking smirk. "Where's your usual shadow got to then?

"None of your business, Johnson!" Lucy snapped at him.

"Rather touchy, aren't we?" He smiled unpleasantly at her. "Maybe your darkie friend realised she isn't wanted here and cleared off!"

Lucy gritted her teeth in rage but she did not bother to reply and barged past Johnson, ignoring his angry protest as she marched off down the corridor. Johnson seemed able get right under her skin today. It was as though he knew how frustrated she was about Sumita's disappearance, although Lucy was sure it could not be general knowledge yet. But she contained her fury, fearing that if she let it loose on Johnson now she might actually end up hurting him.

It was half an hour's walk from the Biology Department to King's College. It was quite a nice day for October so Lucy was glad she had decided to walk it as it gave her the chance to cool down.

The gothic splendour of King's was a far cry from the Victorian neo-Tudor redbrick of Girton and Lucy was relieved Peter was waiting for her at the entrance. After signing in as a visitor at the Porter's desk he led her through the dark panelled corridors to one of the undergraduate Common Rooms. Although a few curious glances were directed her way, Lucy's presence did not attract nearly as much attention as it would have done at some other places. King's was among the more progressive of the Cambridge colleges in admitting female students, although they were still few and far between. In fact Lucy had been offered a place at King's as well as Girton. The prospect of being at the same college as Peter had been tempting, but in the end Lucy had decided she would be more comfortable in an all female environment.

Peter ushered her inside, apologising that it was not possible to take her to his own common room. Not only would it have been occupied at this time but Lucy would not have been permitted there. King's might be progressive in some ways but it still retained many archaic traditions including the rule that barred women, even female postgraduates and fellows, from the Senior Common Rooms.

Edmund was already waiting for them, and Lucy hugged him affectionately in greeting.

"All right then," Peter began as they sat down around a huge table of dark polished mahogany. "Lucy, why don't you explain what all this is about?"

As briefly as she could, Lucy described the events of the party on Saturday, and Inspector Strickland's visit the next day. The two young men were silent for a while after she finished.

"What I don't understand," Edmund said at last, "is how Sumita's father managed to get to the Ladies without being spotted. Lucy, are you sure there was no way to get to the toilets without going through the hall?"

Lucy nodded. "There is a fire escape but it was kept shut. Apart from that you would have to go through the hall."

"But then someone would have certainly noticed him," Edmund argued. "A middle aged Indian at a party of mostly European students would stand out like a sore thumb."

"Well perhaps Sumita went outside for some fresh air and he grabbed her then," Peter suggested.

"I doubt it," Lucy replied. "She left her lipstick in the Ladies, remember?"

"She might have just dropped it by accident."

"That's rather unlikely," Lucy told them. "Clothes rationing may have ended three years ago, but luxury items like cosmetics are still expensive and difficult to get hold of. No girl these days would be that careless with her lipstick. I always look after mine as though it were solid gold!"

Edmund shook his head in bafflement. "I'll just never understand girls!"

"Perhaps we could get back to the real issue?" Peter suggested. "I take it we're agreed Sumita's father is responsible?" The other two nodded. "Then I think we should concentrate on finding him, and worry about how he did it later."

Lucy groaned. "He could be anywhere in Cambridge. Finding him won't be easy."

"Oh I don't know!" There was a satisfied smirk on Edmund's face. "It might be easier than you think!"

Lucy stared at her younger brother, knowing that look of old. "Just what are you so pleased about, Ed?"

Edmund grinned at her. "I just happen to know where Sumita's father is!"

"What? Where!" Peter demanded.

"How did you find him?" Lucy asked.

"He's rented a small house on the outskirts of the city" Edmund held up a piece of paper. "This is the address. As for how, well Peter asked me to find out what I could about this man, and as he said not so long ago, it's all a matter of having the right contacts."

"Contacts!" Lucy snorted. "You mean the Old Boys Network? I suppose the landlord who rented the house went to the same school as you, or his father did, or his fifth cousin ten times removed!"

Peter chuckled. "Well don't disparage it, Lu. It got us the information we needed."

"I suppose so!" She realised there were more important things to get on with. "We'd better pay him a little visit then."

"Shouldn't we inform the police?" Edmund asked doubtfully.

"No!" Lucy's tone was decisive. "If we do that there will be all sorts of questions and endless delays. We should deal with this ourselves."

"I think Lu's right," Peter agreed. "And I'm sure the three of us can handle this."

They smiled at each other, remembering all the adventures they had shared. Compared to fighting witches, giants and Calormenes, rescuing Sumita should be easy.

"If we're going there now, I'd better bring my car round," Peter said, and headed for the door. "I won't be long."

"I wouldn't bet on it, knowing your car!" Edmund muttered, and Lucy giggled at his long-suffering expression. It was true Peter's car was not really the most reliable on the road. It ran well enough once the engine was started, but getting it started was another matter altogether.

Lucy was glad that they seemed to be getting somewhere, but at the same time she couldn't help worrying that they might be too late, that Sumita's father had already got her out of England. She didn't want to think about that, or contemplate what might happen to her friend. Yet her mind refused to obey her and conjured up horrific images of Sumita at her father's mercy back in India, being repeatedly abused by him, then when he tired of her being sold to someone equally brutal as a plaything. She was suddenly dismayed to realise her eyes were filled with tears.

"Lucy?" Edmund peered at her closely. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I'm all right!" Lucy muttered, but her voice broke on the final word, giving the lie to her reassurance.

Taking her hands, Edmund pulled her upright, drawing her into a hug and then she broke down completely, sobbing into his shoulder.

"It's all right!" Edmund whispered, rubbing her back in awkward consolation. "Everything will be all right, Lu!"

"I'm just so worried about Sumita," she admitted, managing to regain some control over her emotions. "What if we don't find her, what if he's smuggled her back to India already?"

"I'm sure there hasn't been enough time for that," he assured her. "And we will find her Lucy, even if we have to go to India and search the country from top to bottom!"

Lucy slipped out of the hug and wiped the tears from her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," Edmund told her. He smiled affectionately at his sister. "You've become very close to Sumita, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have," Lucy admitted. "Perhaps I'm compensating because Su has become so distant from us now, but Sumita is really more like a sister than just a friend."

"I haven't seen you this upset in a long time," Edmund observed.

"Well I'm not the sort of girl who cries at just anything," Lucy said. She sat down at the table and wiped her face again. "Goodness, I must look absolutely dreadful!"

Edmund watched in some amusement as his sister took a compact from her pocket and started to touch up her make up. "Why is it the first thing girls worry about after a good cry is fixing their faces?" he enquired sardonically.

Lucy ignored him and concentrated on putting her appearance to rights. "There!" she said at last, closing the compact. "That's much better! It's just as well I don't usually wear mascara or I would have looked an utter fright!"

"You do anyway," Edmund teased her, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him, and to her surprise he returned the gesture. She laughed, suddenly feeling much more relaxed. Edmund was a very serious young man and to people who didn't know him well often seemed rather dour, but Lucy knew there was an impish sense of humour lurking under the grave exterior he liked to assume. It was not a side of himself he showed very often but it always delighted her when he did.

She stuck out her tongue at him again, this time twisting her lips into a lopsided grin. Laughing, the two siblings started to compete against each other in making increasingly grotesque expressions. They were so involved in their game they didn't hear the door open or realise they were being watched.

"When the two of you have quite finished acting like five year olds, you might like to know the car is ready."

They looked up in surprise to see Peter standing at the door, observing their antics with obvious amusement.

"We'd better get going then," Edmund spoke gruffly and his cheeks were flushed slightly as he got to his feet. He was clearly embarrassed at being caught out in such juvenile behaviour, but Lucy was not bothered in the least. As far as she was concerned, there was no advantage in being grown up if you couldn't be childish occasionally as well.

Edmund was still frowning as they were heading out of King's College, trying to cover his embarrassment, but Lucy felt a sudden rush of affection for him. No matter how serious he usually was she knew she could always rely on him, and it was due to Edmund they now had a chance of rescuing Sumita. Lucy just hoped this nightmarish situation would soon be resolved and they could get back to normal.

A/N _I'm really really sorry this update has taken so long. At the end of November my PC broke down and after a lot of hassle it turned out to be the motherboard, so I had to get a new one. Since then I've been struggling to rescue my data and cope with a host of compatibility problems running my antique software on Windows 7. I just hate Microsoft. Anyway, apologies again and a very (belated) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!_


	15. Disappointment

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 15: Disappointment

"Are you sure this is the place?" Lucy asked doubtfully. She stared out of the car window at the row of dilapidated houses. "It doesn't look like anyone has lived here in years!"

"This is the place all right," Edmund assured her. "Apparently all the houses are occupied, or at least those that are intact."

Lucy nodded, noticing two houses further up the street that were just burned out ruins, obviously the result of bomb damage. Not being a centre of heavy industry, Cambridge had not suffered as badly as some cities during the Blitz, but it had not been entirely unscathed either.

"Looks like the entire street should be demolished!" Peter muttered.

"It's going to be, in a few years," Edmund told them. "At least that's what Cambridge City Council is planning. They intend to build one of those new high rise estates in this area, but there are delays because of funding and legal issues. Meanwhile places like this provide cheap accommodation for people who don't want too many questions asked. Most of the occupiers are in this country illegally."

"Does that include Sumita's father?" Lucy asked

"Yes," Edmund confirmed. "He did have a visa to enter Britain but that expired two months ago."

"Well, that should be useful later," Peter said. "Once we've got Sumita back we can make sure he's deported so he can't cause any more trouble."

Lucy took a deep breath. "Let's get on with it then."

She opened the car door and got out, the two boys following her. Together the three siblings walked towards the nearest house and Peter rapped sharply on the door.

To Lucy it seemed like an eternity before the door creaked open and a face peered out that she recognised immediately.

"What do you want?" Sumita's father queried. Then his face paled as he noticed Lucy. He tried to slam the door shut, but Peter had his foot in the way and forced it open sending the middle aged Indian sprawling on the hall floor.

The three siblings quickly stepped inside and Lucy shut the door behind them. What struck her at once was the overall air of decay. The carpet was filthy and the wallpaper stained and peeling.

Chattergee staggered to his feet. "This is an outrage!" he spluttered. He looked from one to the other and became even paler as he recognised in each of the two young men the same aura of power that had terrified him about Lucy.

His gaze darted to a doorway at the end of the hall, but Edmund quickly moved behind him, cutting off any possibility of escape. He looked hopelessly from one sibling to another, his eyes holding the doomed, terrified expression of an antelope that has been cornered by three lions.

"What do you want?" he stammered.

Lucy stepped forward. "We want Sumita," she told him sternly. "Where is she?"

He looked surprised. "At that ridiculous college, I suppose. Aren't you her roommate?"

"Don't try to trick us!" Lucy retorted. "Sumita has disappeared and we know you're responsible. Now what have you done with her?"

"I tell you, I don't know where my daughter is."

"There's no point lying," Peter said. "We know you plan to get her back to India so you can force her into marriage."

"I have no idea where Sumita is," he replied. "And it's none of your concern what I plan for my daughter. You English have no understanding of our customs."

"Customs?" Lucy screamed, her anger boiling over. "Don't you dare talk to me about customs! Do your precious customs include raping your own daughter?"

Peter and Edmund stared at her in horror. Lucy had not told them about the abuse Sumita had suffered at her father's hands; she felt it was information she should hold in confidence, even from her brothers. But it was out of the bag now and they were both appalled at this revelation.

" I…I don't know what you mean." Sumita's father stammered.

"Sumita told me everything!" Lucy glared at him with a venomous fury that made the man cower back in terror. "I ought to kill you for what you did to her as a child!"

Peter decided to intervene before Lucy's temper got completely out of hand.

"Lucy, Edmund, we'd better search the place. I'll keep an eye on this wretch while you look. Edmund can search the rooms down here while you look upstairs Lucy."

Lucy and Edmund both nodded in agreement. At that moment Lucy would have liked nothing better than to tear Sumita's father apart with her bare hands, but she knew finding Sumita was their main priority.

She quickly ascended the stairs to the upper floor. Upstairs was just as filthy and run down as below. There were three doors and opening the first Lucy discovered it to be the bathroom. She shook her head in disbelief, wondering how anyone could bear to live in such awful conditions. The toilet was filthy and encrusted with limescale, as was the sink, and there was a thick layer of dust in the bath, it had obviously not been used in months. She went to the next door, which turned out to be a bedroom that was unused, judging from the thick cobwebs. After a quick search she opened the final door. This was clearly where Sumita's father slept. The floor was littered with magazines and several beer bottles that had just been tossed aside. On the side table next to the unmade bed there was an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, some of which had spilled onto the floor. Yet again Lucy was astonished and disgusted by the dirt and untidiness.

One of the magazines littering the floor caught her eye. The salacious title and picture of a nude girl on the front cover made its nature obvious. Lucy knew there was a flourishing underground trade in such material, although it was completely illegal. Curious, she picked it up and flicked through it, then gasped in shock at the graphically explicit images of couples engaged in the most intimate of acts. She flung the magazine away in disgust. Lucy was no prude but this cynical exploitation of something that ought to be private revolted her.

Remembering her mission, Lucy looked under the bed and in the wardrobe but there was nothing. She wondered if Edmund was having better luck downstairs but somehow doubted it; a horrible certainty was growing in her heart that they were too late after all.

When she arrived downstairs Edmund was standing with Peter and one glance at his face told her he had been equally unsuccessful. Her brothers looked enquiringly at her and Lucy just shook her head.

"All right," Peter turned back to Sumita's father. "Where is she? What have you done with Sumita?"

"I don't know where she is," he replied.

Peter seized the man by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "I giving you one final chance," he growled. "Tell us what's happened to your daughter or you'll regret it!"

"I tell you I don't know!" he gasped.

In Narnia, Lucy had often been present when prisoners had been interrogated and she had come to recognise instinctively whether or not someone was lying. Although reluctant to accept it, she realised now that Chattergee was telling the truth. The man was just too terrified to even attempt to lie.

"He's telling the truth, Peter," she said quietly.

Peter released his grip on the Indian's throat and stepped back.

"I know." He looked at his two siblings. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Together the three of them left by the front door and headed back to Peter's car. Sumita's father staggered after them and began to scream threats.

"How dare you break into my house and attack me! I'll call the police, I'll have all three of you charged with assault!"

Edmund opened his mouth to reply, but Peter nudged him in the ribs and spoke in a low whisper.

"Don't bother replying, Ed. He'll get his soon enough!"

Edmund looked at him curiously, but did as his brother asked.

"Why did you stop me?" he asked as soon as they were in the car. "Why let him have the last word?"

"Because I intend to call the police and tip them off anonymously where he's staying," Peter replied as he got the engine going. "If he thinks he's cowed us with threats of calling the police he's less likely to scarper."

Edmund chuckled as the car started moving at last. "Very cunning!"

"There's a public call box a few streets from here," Peter told them. "I'll stop there and do it. Meanwhile, what about Sumita, any ideas where we go from here?"

Edmund shrugged. "Well our assumption that her father was responsible was obviously wrong so we have to start again from scratch. Lucy, can you think of anyone else who might have a grudge against her?"

"I have no idea," Lucy replied hopelessly. "I just can't think right now. I was so sure her father was behind it."

She felt an overwhelming sense of despair. An hour ago she had been optimistic Sumita would be rescued that day, but now all her hopes had been dashed and she had no idea what to do next.

Lucy's brother's shared a worried look. They could both see how upset she was.

"Lucy, why didn't you tell us Sumita's father had abused her?" Peter asked.

"Because I promised Sumita I wouldn't tell anyone."

Peter nodded and smiled at his sister sympathetically. "Here's the call box," he said. "I'll be as quick as I can."

While Peter 'phoned the police Lucy remained in the back of the car with Edmund, her mind in turmoil. Thinking Sumita had been in her father's hand's had been bad enough, but this was worse. She had been abducted by an unknown enemy for an unknown reason. Lucy was even starting to wonder if her friend was still alive.

To her horror she felt herself starting to cry, for the second time that day and desperately tried to fight it off.

"_I'm not going to cry again," _she thought angrily. _"I'm not the sort of girl who cries all the time, I'm not!"_

"Lucy?" Edmund looked at her in concern, then put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "It'll be all right," he assured her. "Come on Lu, don't cry." He tried to lighten the situation with humour. "You don't want to spoil your make up again."

"Bugger my make up!"

"Lucy!" Edmund stared at his sister in surprise, a little shocked by her uncharacteristic use of profanity, although the corner of his mouth switched suspiciously. "Such language from a Narnian Queen!"

"I don't feel like a Narnian Queen just now," Lucy admitted, wiping her eyes. "Just a girl who's very worried about her friend."

"We'll find her, Lu," Edmund promised. "No matter what we will find her."

"How?" Lucy asked hopelessly. "We don't know where she is or who might have abducted her." Her voice dropped into a despairing whisper. "We don't even know if she's alive or dead!"

At that moment Peter got back into the car. He saw at once how upset Lucy was and shared a significant look with Edmund.

"Lucy, we'd better get you back to Girton," he said. "I think you could do with a meal then a good night's sleep."

Lucy shrugged indifferently. She had no appetite and doubted she would be able to sleep tonight. Rather than food or sleep Lucy wanted to find Sumita, to be reassured that her friend was unharmed.

The problem was she hadn't the faintest idea how to begin.


	16. Repentance

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 16: Repentance

Lucy's prediction that she would find sleep difficult proved to be well founded. She lay awake for hours, her mind relentlessly going over the events of the last few days. At last, around three in the morning, she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

_She was surrounded by whiteness, a thick suffocating fog that hemmed Lucy in on every side, reducing visibility to a few feet._

_Lucy felt lost and afraid, not knowing where she was or how she had come here. Vague threatening shapes appeared momentarily in the mist, only to disappear an instant later. _

_Then a more substantial, yet still indistinct shape appeared, an unquestionably feminine shape, one that despite the vagueness Lucy recognised at once._

"_Sumita!" Lucy called out her friend's name joyfully, happy to see her again. But as she ran towards the figure it retreated and vanished into the mist._

"_Sumita, come back!" _

_Sudden laughter echoed behind her and Lucy whirled round to confront a dark figure that slowly approached, becoming more distinct until she recognised him as the former graduate demonstrator, Stephen Clovis._

"_Clovis?"_

"_You shouldn't have rejected me, Pevensie," he told her. "Maybe I could have helped you find your friend, but it's too late now."_

_Lucy snarled at the words, but before she could reply he turned away and was lost once again in the mist._

"_You'll never find her."_

_The voice came from behind her, and turning round once more Lucy found herself confronted by the mocking figure of Mortimer Johnson._

"_What are you doing here?" Lucy shouted. "And what do you mean I'll never find her?"_

_The fair-haired young man sneered at her. "Your little wog friend, Pevensie. You'll never find her; you'll never see her again. And good riddance!"_

_With a yell of fury, Lucy rushed towards the arrogant bigot, her fist raised _

_\Before she could reach him he vanished, the thick all pervasive mist was gone as well and Lucy found herself in bright sunshine, standing at the foot of a grassy hill. _

_It was a place she recognised immediately, a place she could never forget; the Hill of the Stone Table. She was in Narnia again! _

_Looking down at herself, Lucy discovered she was not wearing her nightdress but an elegant gown of green silk, the sort of clothing she would have worn when she reigned as Queen at Cair Paravel alongside her siblings. _

_Lucy was wondering what she should do next when a sudden brightness flashed above her. The earth trembled and a familiar sweetness filled the air. She looked up to the summit of the hill and a radiant smile appeared on her face. Dwarfing the shattered fragments of the Stone Table that had broken when He returned from death and the Deep Magic had been overthrown stood the Great Lion, Aslan Himself, the King over all High Kings. And the radiance that fell in scattered fragments of glory from His mane made the noonday sun seem dim and tawdry in comparison. _

_Lucy felt an immeasurable sense of relief, thinking that the problem that had perplexed her for days could finally be resolved. Aslan would know what to do about Sumita's disappearance, he would advise her. Why had she never thought of that before?_

_Lucy didn't stop to ponder the question. She ran frantically up the hill, desperate to be with Aslan. But before she was halfway there, the Great Lion gathered Himself into a crouch and sprang over her head, landing south west of the hill towards the River Rush._

_Laughing, thinking that Aslan was playing a game with her just as he had done that morning so long ago, Lucy turned and pelted back down the hill, heedless of any obstacles in her urgency to reach Him. But yet again as she drew near, Aslan leapt away, landing this time on the far bank of the river. He was further away from her than ever._

"_Aslan!" Lucy shouted, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Why are you running away from me?"_

_The Lion was nearly half a mile away, but His whispered reply was as clear as if He had been standing beside her._

"_It is you who are running away from Me, Dear One!"_

Lucy sat up in bed, her heart racing. She shivered, pulling tangled bed linen closely about her. It was a cold grey morning, cheerless light from an overcast autumn sky illuminating her room. A glance at the clock on her bedside table informed her it was past seven and she had an organic chemistry lecture at nine.

Reluctantly, Lucy got out of bed and started preparing for the day. Even as she dressed, Aslan's final words in her dream haunted her. She was at a loss to understand what He meant. How could she have been running away from Him?

Sitting at her dressing table, Lucy quickly ran a comb through her hair, pulling out the tangles, but she neglected to apply any make up; this morning she really didn't have the heart to bother much about her appearance.

Breakfast was a solitary affair. Ever since Sumita's disappearance Lucy had isolated herself from the other girls at Girton. She had not been on particularly close terms with any to begin with, as no one else was reading a scientific subject so there was little opportunity for interaction outside the college building. But now she left them strictly alone, her distant attitude repelling any friendly advances. Sadly, she did not feel any loss at this.

The moment the College Fellows left the high table Lucy returned to her room to collect her textbooks and notes, then headed for the bus stop. A small group of girls from the college was already there and more joined them as Lucy waited, but just as at breakfast in the Dining Hall she remained aloof, not sharing in the animated conversation of the others.

The bus into town arrived a few minutes later and they all boarded it to begin the now routine journey to the centre of Cambridge. Lucy sat in silence as she stared out of the window, her mind a whirl of disorganised thoughts. Her dream still bothered her, especially Aslan's last words and she worried as well over what she would tell Mark about their search for Sumita.

They had reached the centre of Cambridge now and the bus was travelling along King's Parade, past King's College. There were still several stops to go before they reached the University Chemistry Department, but on sudden impulse Lucy got to her feet and alighted at the next stop. As the bus left her behind she realised she was doing something she had imagined herself incapable of; skipping a lecture.

Slowly, Lucy walked toward the main college building. She had some vague idea of finding Peter and seeking his opinion about her dream. But almost without realising, her feet led her elsewhere, across Trinity Court towards the King's Chapel.

The chapel's eastern door was open and Lucy crept quietly inside into the building's vast and echoing interior.

What always astonished Lucy about the King's College chapel was how brightly lit it always seemed, no matter what the weather. Most churches with a lot of stained glass seemed dark when the sky was overcast as it was today, but there always seemed to be more light within this building than there was outside. It was as if the chapel somehow attracted light to itself or had a source of illumination beyond ordinary human perception.

As she walked slowly up the main aisle, the other thing that struck her was the silence. Lucy had been to the King's Chapel many times before, but always during some service. There had been the hubbub of hushed voices from the congregation, the sounds of people moving in their seats and the rustling of pages in hymn books; and of course during the service itself the glorious sound of the chapel choir and organ. But today the building was quiet and tranquil. It was a very different ambience from what she was accustomed to here, but in her present mood far from unwelcome.

Lucy sat in one of the chairs close to the wooden choir screen and closed her eyes, drinking in the stillness and tranquillity. She felt some of the tension of the last few days slowly leave her as she relaxed into the silence and let go of her worries.

Even so, her dream of the previous night and Aslan's final words haunted her. Lucy tried to dismiss it from her mind but again and again she found herself wondering what the Lion had meant. How could she be running away from Aslan when He occupied her thoughts as much as always?

Attempting to reassure herself of that, Lucy reviewed the past few weeks, trying to remember all the times she had thought of Aslan. With growing unease she realised she was unable to recall a single occasion when He had been in her thoughts. The last time she could recall with certainty was that night she and Sumita had revealed their deepest secrets to each other and she had remembered that meeting with Aslan on the beach outside Cair Paravel, the day news had reached her of Corvan's death, and that had been nearly two months ago.

As she thought back over the last few months, Lucy realised she had been so involved in her new life as a student at Cambridge, and latterly so preoccupied in the problem of Sumita's disappearance that Aslan had not been in her thoughts at all. There had been a time in her life, not so long ago, when any difficulty or problem had been referred to Aslan as a matter of course. Even though she could seldom hear His voice audibly in this world, Lucy had still always felt the gentle promptings of the Lion's guidance in her heart. With growing dismay she recognised that was no longer true.

As Lucy forced herself to look honestly at her own motivations she realised it was more than just the distractions of college life that had made her neglect Aslan. It was something far worse; pride. She had been so proud of being the first girl at her school to win a scholarship to Cambridge and so proud as well of what she had accomplished in Narnia. The truth was Lucy had come to believe in her own legend as the Great Warrior Queen, forgetting that all she had achieved was the result of Aslan's grace and that whatever abilities she had were not of her own devising but His gift.

A sudden drip of wetness on her hands startled her and Lucy realised with some astonishment that she was crying. Burying her face in her hands she allowed the tears to flow freely and for the first time in many weeks, prayed.

" _Oh Aslan!" _she wept silently. _"I'm so sorry. I've forgotten you, neglected you. I've been proud and heard hearted, relied on my own skill and cleverness instead of your strength. I've scorned and criticised my own sister for turning against you but I've been worse. Susan doesn't even claim to believe in you any more but I do and I haven't acted like it!"_

Lucy dashed the tears away from her face then continued. _"Forgive me, Aslan, and help me be close to you again like I used to be. And please help me find Sumita if that's what you want. I know without your help I'll never find her."_

The last part of that prayer had been bitter and she made it grudgingly. Although Lucy would spare no effort to find Sumita, she knew it might well be the Lion's will that she never see her friend again in this life. As her experience with Corvan had taught her, what she desired and what Aslan decreed might not be the same. If that proved to be so now, she could either lose herself in bitterness and resentment, or trust that ultimately Sumita and Corvan and all those she loved were safe between the Lion's Paws. It might seem a hard choice but for Lucy it was really no choice at all.

She would trust Aslan, just as she always had.


	17. An Unexpected Ally

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 17: An Unexpected Ally

Lucy gathered up her notes and textbooks then put on her coat. She glanced briefly in the mirror and winced at her appearance. Despite the make-up she had applied the dark shadows under her eyes were still obvious to anyone who looked closely.

Nearly a week had now passed since Sumita's disappearance and they were still no closer to finding her. Peter and Edmund had done their best to help her but none of them had come up with anything and they still couldn't think of any possible suspects.

Lucy shook her head irritably. There was no point in thinking about this now and she needed to get on with her work. As there were no lectures this morning, Lucy had decided to spend a couple of hours in the library, catching up with the course assignments she was behind with. She felt it would be easier to do this somewhere other than her room, which was a constant reminder of her missing friend. And perhaps concentrating for a while on something else would help her return to the problem with a fresh perspective.

Just as she was about to leave, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Lucy called out.

The door opened and to Lucy's surprise Alice Pearson entered.

"Um… excuse me," the girl said hesitantly. "I was wondering…" Her voice trailed off.

"What is it?" Lucy regarded her curiously. It was obvious Pearson wanted something, but Lucy didn't understand why she had come to her; they were not exactly friends. But then she realised she probably knew Pearson better than any other girl at Girton. As far as Lucy knew she had no close friends here; the girl's acerbic personality hardly encouraged anyone to be friendly.

"I was wondering if you could loan me some mascara." Pearson said at last.

Lucy stared at her blankly for a moment. That was hardly what she had expected. Then with a shrug she went to her dressing table and picking up a small gold tube handed it to the other girl.

"It's just plain black," she said apologetically.

"That's fine." Pearson replied. "I'll return it to you in a minute."

"There's no hurry," Lucy told her. "I don't often use it anyway."

Pearson started to leave the room, hesitated then turned back to face Lucy.

"Still no sign of your little friend, eh?"

"You mean Sumita?" Lucy stared at her coldly. Then she sighed and ran a hand through her hair, unable to maintain her stoic façade. "No, there isn't and I'm really worried now."

Pearson shrugged. "Oh, I shouldn't worry. From what I saw Saturday evening she's not in any danger!"

She turned to leave again, but before she had taken more than two paces she was seized from behind and slammed into the wall. Pearson let out a little shriek of fear, the tube of mascara falling from her hand and rolling away un-regarded.

"What do you mean?" Lucy hissed. "Did you see Sumita on Saturday evening?"

"Let me go!" Pearson protested. She struggled to free herself, but Lucy was much stronger and seizing the other girl's wrists pinned her to the wall.

"Answer me!"

Alice Pearson whimpered, staring back at Lucy with a look of terror in her eyes.

"I saw her when I going home for Sunday in my father's car. A man was carrying her into a house about half a mile from here. I couldn't see his face but they looked very lovey dovey, the way she was leaning on his shoulder."

Lucy released the other girl and stepped back, her face impassive but her mind whirling, trying to make sense of this startling new information.

"What's wrong?" Pearson's tone was mocking. Now that Lucy had released her she was recovering some of her characteristic sarcasm. "Spoiled your rose tinted view of your darkie friend, have I? Well, you needn't worry. She'll be back when she's tired of him. These people have no control over their lower instincts!"

Lucy realised Pearson believed she had seen Sumita with a lover. Obviously Sumita had been semi-conscious, possibly drugged when she was being carried and the blond girl had interpreted what she saw in line with her own prejudices. She didn't bother trying to persuade her otherwise; there were more urgent things to deal with.

"Where is this house?"

Pearson shrugged. "I told you, about half a mile from here."

"Take me there!" Lucy demanded.

"Are you mad?" Pearson burst out. "I haven't got time and there would be no point anyway. Chattergee wouldn't thank you for intruding on her little love nest!"

Lucy glared at her. "Just so you're aware of it Pearson, Sumita's disappearance is the subject of a police investigation. So either you show me or you will have to show them!"

Pearson stared at her, clearly astonished.

"Well?" Lucy said. "Are you going to cooperate or do I call the police?"

"All right, all right!" Pearson said hurriedly. "I think I can remember how to get there."

"Come on then!"

Lucy started to leave the room, hesitated, and then went to the drawer in her bedside table. Opening it, she took out the knife Peter had given her and slipped it into her pocket.

"I thought you were in a hurry," Pearson said in exasperation.

"I am!"

Lucy didn't bother to offer any explanation. She left her room, Pearson trailing reluctantly behind her. To Pearson's further annoyance Lucy stopped at the Porter's Lodge to use the telephone. She was unable to contact either Mark or her brothers, but she left a message for all three, explaining briefly that she knew where Sumita was and giving the address that her reluctant companion had been able to provide.

Alice Pearson seemed annoyed once more at the delay. Lucy thought it rather ironic, considering how reluctant she had been to help. She supposed Pearson regarded the entire thing as a farce and wanted it done with as soon as possible.

Lucy felt a little twinge of guilt at involving Pearson in something that could very well be dangerous. But she needed her help to find the place quickly and the girl's attitude did little to evoke sympathy.

They walked out of the college gate, their journey taking them into the leafy outer suburbs of Cambridge. Twenty minutes later, Lucy found herself outside a detached house at the end of an avenue. It was fronted by a neat garden enclosed by a fence and looked exactly like a thousand other, perfectly normal, suburban houses.

"Are you sure his is the right house?" Lucy asked

Pearson nodded. Lucy walked around to where the wall of the house ran alongside the side street. There were a couple of windows at about waist height and the second had a latch that seemed rather loose. Taking out the knife Peter had given her, Lucy was able to force it open.

"What are you doing?" Pearson hissed.

"Breaking in." Lucy replied calmly. "What does it look like?"

"Are you crazy?" The other girl exclaimed. "That's illegal!"

"You don't have to stay." Lucy told her patiently. "You've brought me here and now you can go if you like."

"No!" Pearson replied, shaking her head. "I want to find out what all this is about."

"All right then." Lucy swung her leg over the windowsill and clambered inside, in the process catching her stocking on a protruding nail and laddering it badly. Pearson followed her, cursing under her breath at the exertion.

"I've laddered my stockings," Pearson complained.

"So have I." Lucy shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Easy for you to say," the other girl grumbled. "You're only wearing nylons but mine are silk. They cost ten shillings a pair!"

Lucy ignored her, looking round at the room they found themselves in. It was obviously a sitting room, quite lavishly furnished with a sofa and chairs, a coffee table and drinks cabinet and a radio-gramophone in the corner; everything looked immaculate.

Opening the door, Lucy found herself in a narrow hallway with several doors and a flight of stairs leading to the upper part of the house. Under the stairs was a wooden door that probably led to a cellar. Lucy decided to explore there first.

"What are you doing?" Pearson asked in a whisper as Lucy opened the door under the stairs.

"I think this leads to a cellar," Lucy replied, also whispering. "Let's try here first."

Her guess about the cellar proved correct. There was a light switch just inside the door and when she pressed it the space below was illuminated.

Cautiously, the two girls descended the stone steps and found themselves in a wine cellar. Wine racks filled with dusty bottles crowded the narrow space. Lucy examined some of the bottles curiously. They included some of France's greatest wines, such a Château Latour and Romanee LaTache, as well as Rieslings from some of the great German vineyards like Steinberg and Sonnenuhr.

"However owns this place, he or she was good taste in wine," Lucy muttered.

"There's another door over there," Alice Pearson said suddenly.

Lucy looked where Pearson was pointing and saw an old wooden door set into the wall that presumably led to another part of the cellar. She walked over and opened it, but the interior was in complete darkness. There was a switch next to the door and when Lucy pressed it a light bulb lit up inside. She gasped in horror at the sight that met her eyes.

It was a tiny stone room, with no furnishing except a wooden table and chair. Sitting in the chair, her head lolling to one side, gagged and bound hand and foot with ropes was someone Lucy recognised at once.

"Sumita!"

Lucy rushed over to her friend. She sighed with relief as a quick examination showed Sumita was at least still alive, although she was deeply unconscious and seemed to have been sedated. Her friend was still wearing the dress from Saturday night, but it was now filthy and crumpled. Sumita herself was in a worse condition. Her hair was grubby and tangled, she looked thin and haggard and there were livid bruises on her face. Cold fury filled Lucy's heart as she realised her friend had been starved and beaten for nearly a week. She silently vowed that whoever was responsible would pay and pay dearly!

"Chattergee!" Lucy looked round at the sound of Pearson's voice to see her standing in the doorway of Sumita's cell, her eyes wide with horror. "What happened to her?"

Lucy's voice was harsh as she replied. "She's been kept a prisoner here and been beaten and starved for the last six days!"

"Why would anyone do such a terrible thing?"

"Why should you care?" Lucy asked bitterly. The glare she directed at Alice Pearson was cold and hard. "She's only another darkie! Why should you bother about what happens to her?"

"I didn't mean…" Pearson stammered, then fell silent. She hung her head looking confused and a little ashamed.

Lucy's expression softened. She realised Alice Pearson was probably more unthinking than callous. She had heard a little about the girl's background. She came from a wealthy upper-class family that had connections with the British Administration in India before Independence. Lucy guessed Pearson had only been parroting the prejudices she had been brought up with; prejudices there had been little opportunity for her to question.

"Why don't you remove the ropes and gag and try to make Sumita more comfortable?" She suggested gently. "I'm going to look around upstairs and see if I can find any clues about who's behind this."

Leaving Pearson to look after Sumita, Lucy climbed the cellar stair and started looking through the ground floor of the house. Besides the sitting room there was a bathroom and kitchen, both immaculate and quite luxurious, but there was no indication of who this house belonged to.

Lucy was just about to go upstairs when she heard a faint scream from the open cellar door. She rushed down the stairs and raced across the wine cellar. The door to Sumita's cell was still open, but Alice Pearson lay crumpled in the doorway. A dark figure was bending over her, holding a gauze pad.

The figure straightened up and turned around, and Lucy found herself staring into the mocking face of Mortimer Johnson!


	18. A Busy Morning

**Mystery at Girton**

Disclaimer: Lucy Pevensie and her siblings, together with all other characters and places from the Chronicles of Narnia are the creation of C. S. Lewis. Cambridge University and its associated colleges, including Girton are real places, but all the staff and students depicted herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 18: A Busy Morning

"Johnson!" Lucy was unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

The blond haired young man bowed mockingly. "At your service!"

"It was you?" Lucy said incredulously. "You kidnapped Sumita?"

Johnson smirked at her. "Took you long enough to work it out, Pevensie."

There was only one question that Lucy could ask. "Why? For heavens sake, why?"

"You ask me that?" Johnson glared at her. "After she struck me, laid her filthy hands on me? You really think I could let that go unpunished?"

"What's why you done all this?" Lucy asked in disbelief, as she recalled the incident weeks ago outside the lecture theatre at Addenbrooke's Hospital when Sumita had slapped him. "An act of petty revenge just because a girl slapped you?"

"No!" Johnson replied furiously. "That's not the only reason. Someone had to make a stand. There are boatloads of filth like her arriving every day. They're breeding like rats, crowding the real English out. Someone had to do something!"

Lucy wanted to challenge Johnson, to expose the flaws and inconsistencies in his prejudiced reasoning but she knew it would be pointless. There was a fanatical glint in his eye that told her the young man was beyond reason. In any case she was much more concerned with what he had done to Sumita.

"If you've dared to touch Sumita…" she began threateningly.

"What?" Johnson looked baffled for a second before understanding and then he laughed. "You think I'd pollute myself by intimate contact with one of the lower races?" A change came over his expression and his gaze ran over Lucy's figure in a way that was unmistakably covetous. "You however are another matter entirely!"

Most young women would probably have been terrified in such a situation, but Lucy had been threatened by much more menacing figures than Johnson. She was actually finding it very hard not to laugh; he was behaving like a stereotypical comic book villain.

"I'm going to enjoy having you, Pevensie," he threatened. "It's time you were put in your place, taught that you're a mere female whose only purpose is to give pleasure to men. But once I've tired of you, I'm afraid you'll be joining your two friends in a one way trip to the bottom of the river Cam."

Lucy decided it was time to put a stop to Johnson's ranting. Taking the knife Peter had given her from her coat pocket she pressed the hidden catch, allowing the blade to spring free.

Johnson glared at her. "Drop that knife, Pevensie!"

"Now why would I do that?" Lucy enquired sweetly.

"Drop it or I'll take it from you!"

The smile she gave him was mocking. "I'd like to see you do it!"

With a snarl he leapt towards her, hand outstretched to seize her knife hand, only to reel away with a cry of pain.

"You little bitch!" He screamed, clutching his injured hand. A lighting fast slash by Lucy had cut it to the bone.

Johnson had been fortunate this blade was of earthly manufacture, rather than the Dwarf forged steel Lucy had been accustomed to wield in Narnia. A Calormene Tarkhaan who had once attempted to disarm her in the same fashion lost two fingers as a result.

An instant later, before his retina had barely registered the fact that Lucy had moved, Johnson was slammed against the nearby wall.

"Don't try anything!" Lucy cautioned him, her voice a deadly whisper. Her left hand held his throat in a grip of steel; the knife poised mere millimetres from his right eye. "One untoward move and you're a dead man!"

Johnson stared back at her, not daring to move a muscle, his face pallid and terrified. Lucy heard a groan from just behind her, and realising Pearson was recovering she released him and stepped back.

"Go into that room," Lucy ordered, indicating with a nod of her head Sumita's cell. "Stand in the corner and don't move. Don't even think of trying to escape or I'll kill you without hesitation!"

Wordlessly, clutching a handkerchief to his injured hand, Johnson obeyed her.

Still keeping a careful watch on him, Lucy knelt down and helped the now conscious Alice Pearson to her feet.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked anxiously.

"I think so," Pearson muttered. "Someone crept up behind me a pressed something over my mouth and I can't remember anything after that."

"It was Johnson." Lucy gestured to the blond haired young man standing in the corner of the little room.

"Him!" Pearson exclaimed. "He was the one I saw carrying Chatterjee on Saturday!"

"Yes, I've already established that." Lucy told her. "Do you think you could free Sumita?"

Walking a little unsteadily, Pearson moved behind the chair Sumita was tied to and began undoing the ropes. The Indian girl began to stir and moaned softly. Still keeping a wary eye on Johnson, Lucy knelt down in front of her friend, watching her face anxiously.

Sumita's eyes flickered open. She looked dazed and confused for a few seconds, but then seemed to recognise Lucy and reached out with her now freed hands towards her friend. Lucy seized Sumita's hands and squeezed them comfortingly.

"Lucy?" Sumita whispered. "Oh Lucy, thank God you found me. I thought I was going to die here!"

"You're not going to die," Lucy assured her. "Can you remember what happened?"

Sumita frowned. "I remember going to the bathroom to freshen up after that awful girl spilled her drink on me. I'd just finished touching up my lipstick when I noticed Johnson standing behind me in the mirror. Before I could do anything he pressed a pad over my face. The next thing I remember is waking up here tied to this chair," Sumita shuddered. "Johnson started hitting me and screaming insults. It seemed to go on for hours. Then he forced me to drink something and my mind went all fuzzy. I can't remember much of what happened for a while after that." She shivered again. "Every time I came to, the same thing happened. I think he must have been drugging me."

Lucy nodded thoughtfully. She imagined Johnson had drugged Sumita to make her more compliant. There was the matter of her natural functions for a start; he must have allowed her the chance to relieve herself as there were no indications of self soiling. Not that Lucy thought that had anything to do with compassion; Johnson probably just didn't want to be bothered by the smell.

"Did he feed you?" She asked quietly.

Sumita grimaced. "He gave me some dry bread a few times, telling me it was too good for 'a filthy wog' like me." She shuddered again. "Lucy, what about Johnson? If he comes back and finds us here…"

"Oh don't worry about that!" Lucy reassured her. "I've already taken care of him!"

She gestured to the corner where Johnson had been standing and suddenly noticed he had been edging his way to the door while she had been distracted.

"No!" Lucy shouted. Determined that he should not escape she raised her knife for a swift throw, intending to incapacitate rather than kill.

But for once Lucy was too slow. With a scream of fury, Sumita leapt from her chair and threw herself at Johnson. Her fist lashed out and crashed into his jaw, knocking him off balance and slamming his head against the edge of the door frame. He slid silently to the floor, completely unconscious.

Lucy sprang to her feet and hurrying over lifted up Johnson's eyelid. "He's been knocked out cold!"

She grinned at Sumita then turning back to Johnson noticed he had let go of the handkerchief he had been clutching, allowing his injury to start bleeding again.

"I suppose I'd better bind that up," Lucy sighed. "I don't want him to bleed to death before he stands trial!"

Alice Pearson meanwhile had been staring at Sumita, an expression of grudging admiration on her face. "That's some right hook you've got, Chatterjee!"

"Pearson?" Sumita seemed to notice her for the first time. "What are you doing here?"

"She helped me find you." Lucy said, looking up from where she was bandaging Johnson's hand.

"Really?" Sumita looked surprised but did not pursue the matter. She rubbed her knuckles, grimacing. "I nearly broke my hand with that punch!" Then she shrugged and smiled. "But it was worth it!"

"I imagine so!" Lucy chuckled as she got to her feet.

"Lucy, do you know what happened to my handbag?" Sumita asked suddenly.

"I'm afraid not," Lucy replied. "It wasn't in the bathroom back at the church hall so I assume Johnson took it with him. I'll search upstairs for it in a bit." She looked at her friend curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just gasping for a cigarette," Sumita confessed.

"Sorry, I can't help you there," Lucy apologised.

"Here." Alice Pearson took a cigarette case from her pocket and offered it to Sumita. "Have one of mine."

Sumita stared at Pearson in utter astonishment for a second, then her face broke into a smile and she reached out to take one of the proffered cigarettes.

"Thanks!"

Pearson flicked her lighter and Sumita bent down to light the cigarette. Straightening up, she breathed out a long plume of smoke together with a sigh of satisfaction.

"Oh these are just gorgeous!"

"They're Turkish," Pearson informed her, lighting her own cigarette. "A special blend I have made for me." Grinning she offered the cigarette case to Lucy. "Looks like you're the odd woman out Pevensie. Sure you won't join us?"

"No thank you!" Lucy shook her head firmly, although she couldn't help smiling at the antics of the other two girls. "I'm sure those things aren't good for you!"

"Oh I dare say you're right," Sumita agreed, then unconcernedly pulled hard on her cigarette again. She wobbled on her feet a little and hastily sat down in the chair again. "Oh dear!"

"Sumita, what's wrong?" Lucy asked in concern.

"Just feeling a little dizzy," Sumita confessed.

Before her friend could protest, Lucy took the cigarette from her hand and dropping it to the floor, stamped it out.

"Lucy, I was really enjoying that!" Sumita complained.

"Wait until you've had a proper meal inside you and a good night's sleep," Lucy advised her.

Just at that moment they heard the clatter of feet descending the cellar stairs. It sounded like at least three people.

"Over there!" Lucy heard a voice call out. With a slight thrill that surprised her, she recognised it as Mark's

The footsteps headed towards them and then Lucy realised her two brothers were with Mark.

"Lucy," Peter said anxiously. "Are you all right?"

"It seems the cavalry has arrived!" Lucy said sarcastically. She ignored Peter's question. "I'm sorry gentlemen but we ladies have already taken care of things!"

"So I see!" Edmund regarded her with amusement, and then turned to the still unconscious man on the floor. "So is this the culprit then?"

Lucy nodded.

"Johnson!" Mark exclaimed disbelievingly. "It was him all along?"

Lucy nodded again. "I suppose we should have suspected him to start with." She turned to address Peter. "We need to get Sumita back to Girton. She needs proper food and sleep and the police will have to be informed as well. Can you take care of that while I search upstairs?"

"All right." Peter agreed.

Leaving the little room that had been her friend's prison, Lucy crossed the cellar and made her way up the stairs. She had already been in the sitting room and the only other room downstairs was a kitchen. It was immaculate and looked as if it was never used and she found nothing of interest there. Ascending the stairs to the upper floor she discovered a bathroom then what was obviously Johnson's bedroom.

Lucy examined the room with interest. Like the rest of the house it was spotless. There was a single bed with a bedside table and lamp, a couple of ornate chairs and other items of furniture along with a small table flush against the wall. Resting on the table was Sumita's handbag.

Walking over, Lucy discovered the handbag's contents had been dumped into a small pile and she began to methodically sort through them. There was a comb, several items of make up and a cigarette case and lighter. There was also Sumita's purse, although that was empty. Lucy snorted angrily; Johnson obviously did not consider Sumita's money dirty.

Lucy quickly returned the items to the handbag and began to look around. There was a Victorian style writing desk against the opposite wall and she looked through the papers scattered on it and began pulling open the various drawers. All the material there related the pharmacology course Johnson had been doing with them, so Lucy abandoned her search and moved to the bedside table. There was a small drawer underneath and pulling it open Lucy saw the only thing there was a small black notebook.

She flicked through it, realising at once it was some sort of journal or diary, although most of the entries were abbreviated in some way. Lucy turned to the later entries and a frown appeared on her face.

"Now that's very odd," she muttered to herself.

"Lucy?"

At the unexpected interruption to her thoughts, Lucy whirled around clutching her chest. She saw Mark standing in the doorway.

"Mark!" Lucy exclaimed reproachfully. "You scared the life out of me!"

"Sorry," her friend apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Slipping the notebook into her pocket, Lucy walked up to him.

"What is it?" She enquired.

"The police are on their way here," Mark told her. "They'll be wanting to question everyone."

Lucy nodded, resigned to the tedium they would be forced to undergo for the next hour or so. "I suppose we'd better go down then."

She moved towards the door but Mark reached out to take her arm, stopping her.

"Mark?" Lucy looked at him in surprise. "What is it?"

The young man appeared more hesitant and uncertain than Lucy had ever seen before, but after swallowing hard he blurted out, "Lucy, I think you're an amazing girl!"

Lucy looked down at the floor, knowing she was blushing. "Not really," she muttered. "I just did what had to be done."

Seeming to lose his uncharacteristic shyness, Mark reached out and cupped her chin under his hand, raising her face to his.

"No!" He told her seriously. "You are amazing!"

The he leaned towards her and hesitantly touched his lips to hers for an instant, before moving back. He looked at her fearfully, almost like a puppy expecting to be kicked.

Lucy stared at him in complete shock, then acting on impulse she seized his face in her hands and pulling him towards her, crushed her lips to his.

She felt his arms slide around her waist, pulling her closer. Boldly, she opened her mouth, touching his lips with her tongue then moaned as he allowed her entrance and his tongue met and caressed her own. She wound her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.

Lucy had forgotten, in the heat of that first kiss, that her brothers were downstairs waiting for them, that the police were on their way, that Sumita needed her. All she was aware of at that moment was Mark's closeness, the sweetness of his lips on hers, his strong arms about her, crushing the softness of her breasts against his hard muscular chest.

It was only when she became aware of another, growing hardness pressing against her and the answering ache and moistness of her own loins that Lucy pulled away suddenly, realising she needed to stop this before things got completely out of hand.

Mark released her and stepped away so quickly she might have been red hot.

"I'm sorry!" He muttered.

"Why are you sorry?" Lucy was surprised and a little hurt. It had been a long time since she had last kissed a man but she hadn't thought she could be that out of practice.

"I took advantage of you," Mark said, looking shamefaced.

"Nonsense!" Smiling, Lucy ran her fingers over his mouth, wiping away the traces of lipstick she had left there. "I wasn't exactly unwilling!"

He smiled as well for a moment but then the worried expression returned. "What happens now then?" He asked anxiously.

Lucy sighed, not at all sure how to answer him. The trouble was she felt very confused about her feelings. She admitted now to herself that her feelings for Mark went far beyond mere friendship but still wasn't sure exactly what that meant. Did she love him, or was it only an intense physical attraction? And could she permit herself an intimate relationship with a man, even one that went no further than kissing, on the basis of nothing more than physical attraction? Lucy couldn't answer those questions, she needed time to think and so she decided to prevaricate a little while still being honest.

"I'm not sure," Lucy said at last. "I think we should get this business with Sumita sorted out before we decide anything."

"All right." Mark nodded in agreement but Lucy could tell from his expression that he would not let the issue drop and knew she had only gained a brief respite. "We'd better get downstairs then."

After collecting Sumita's handbag they made their way out of Johnson's bedroom and headed towards the stairs. Lucy was very tempted to hold Mark's hand but restrained herself, knowing it would provoke questions from her brothers.

"_Oh dear!" _Lucy thought as they walked downstairs. _"I'm really in trouble now!"_

None of the others appeared to suspect anything out of the ordinary had happened. Lucy thought Edmund looked at her oddly for a moment, but he said nothing so she dismissed it as her imagination.

Dealing with the police proved to be even more wearing than Lucy had imagined. Inspector Strickland was there, taking detailed statements from everyone and repeatedly going over minor points in a tedious way that made Lucy want to scream in frustration. Eventually he agreed to hold Johnson for questioning and allowed the others to leave.

Despite Lucy's protests, Mark, Peter and Edmund all insisted on accompanying the girls back to Girton. As Peter's car was not big enough for all of them and Sumita was certainly in no condition to walk, they were eventually forced to call a taxi.

At the college they experienced more difficulties. The Porter adamantly refused to admit the three boys who all insisted on making sure Sumita arrived safely at her room, and he appeared sceptical of Lucy's insistence that Peter and Edmund were her brothers. Lucy wondered from his expression if he suspected them of planning to hold an orgy in their dorm! Eventually she got a message to Professor Bellman, the Dean of Girton College, who managed to sort things out.

It was with great relief that Lucy, with assistance from Alice, finally helped Sumita undress and get into her own bed. Her friend needed a good meal and a proper bath but both could wait for now. Lucy wondered if she would need to administer a sleeping draught but it proved unnecessary. Sumita was asleep almost before her head touched the pillow.

"Well, she seems a lot more peaceful now," Alice said as she looked down at the sleeping girl.

"Yes," Lucy agreed. "Thanks for helping me today, Alice."

The girl shrugged. "It was the least I could do." She looked at Lucy rather hesitantly. "Pevensie, no Lucy, I owe you and Sumita an apology. I've been pretty beastly to you both, especially Sumita. I know it's not really an excuse but that's the way I was brought up."

"I know." Lucy smiled at her. "None of us can help that, Alice. But at least you're not like Johnson. You're willing to examine your prejudices and admit you were wrong."

"I hope so!" Alice chuckled ruefully. "Well, you've certainly given me an interesting morning! I suppose I'd better try and get back to my studies. At least we've got everything sorted out now."

She went to the door and let herself out. "I'll see you later, Lucy."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Yes, 'bye for now Alice!"

As the door closed behind Alice, Lucy's smile faded and she took the notebook she had found in Johnson's room from her pocket and studied again the final entries.

"Everything sorted out?" She queried softly. "I wonder."

Returning the notebook to her pocket, Lucy made sure Sumita was comfortable then left their room quietly. Mark and her brothers were waiting outside.

"Is everything all right?" Peter asked.

Lucy nodded. "Sumita is sleeping now. It' what she needs more than anything." She paused for a moment. "There's not much you three can do now. You'd probably best be getting back to your colleges."

"I suppose you're right," Peter agreed. "I'm supposed to be meeting my research supervisor at King's this afternoon."

"I need to go too," Mark said. "Will you be coming into the lab this afternoon Lucy?"

She shook her head. "I want to be here if Sumita wakes up. Hopefully she'll be recovered enough for us to come to lectures tomorrow."

"I hope so!" Mark replied. "Well with luck I'll see you both tomorrow."

Giving her a brief smile, Mark turned and walked off down the dorm corridor, followed by Peter. Edmund remained where he was.

Lucy looked at the younger of her two brothers curiously. "Shouldn't you be going too, Ed?"

"Not just yet," Edmund said quietly. "Lu, do you think we could talk for a bit in private?"

"All right," Lucy agreed uncertainly. "Let's go into the dorm common room."

The common room was empty at this hour with most of the students attending lectures in town. Lucy closed the door behind her, wondering what was bothering Edmund. He was standing in front of the long table, his hands gripping the back of a chair and staring impassively at the clock on the opposite wall.

"Is something wrong, Ed?" Lucy spoke almost in a whisper, feeling strangely nervous.

Edmund whirled round to confront her so suddenly that Lucy could not help gasping.

"Lucy!" Edmund said sternly. "Exactly what is going on between you and Mark?"


End file.
